Total Drama Action: The Second Season
by HolyGrail2007
Summary: Total Drama Action; where sixteen campers show us their thespian endeavors in acting challenges. Another season of movie-related hijinks and laughs, with the campers created by you. Applications are closed.
1. Chapter 1

1Welcome all, to Total Drama Action. In the past season, 22 teens competed against each other in a crappy old summer camp to be subjected to brutal challenges, crappy camp food, and the schemes and alliances of each other all for the sake of a cash prize, that, in hindsight, might not have been worth it. And now, we're doing it all over again. These campers are going to be stuck in an old film lot performing challenges based on movie and television genres. I had originally started this fic earlier, but ran into a slight problem with my account, so I'm starting it completely over.

Sixteen teens shall now go head to head in these movie-related challenges, and you'll be making the teens. Please fill out all of the following categories to the best of your abilities. But first, a few ground rules before you start.

1.) You will have one (1) week to make your characters. Answer all questions, removing what I have filled in the details for the category. Also, please use good grammar and spelling. Some of these categories can be answered with a few words, but the first one is capitalized like a sentence.

2.) Because only original characters will be accepted, do not base your character on something already created, whether it be from a professional source, or from someone else on this site. Don't make carbon copies of characters from Season 1, either. Also, if the character you created is in another fiction on the site, make a new one. Don't make any references to other created characters in other media. (example: "Like Heather, but with longer hair") They will not be accepted.

3.) Be creative and original in your characters attitudes. I don't want to see a plain Jane character with their only exciting feature being an unusual name or ethnicity. Aside from gender and height, I rarely reference physical traits. It is your strategy that will make or break you. Personally, I dislike really weird names since it distracts from what the characters are doing, but I don't care if I have sixteen unusual names if they are unique campers.

4.) There will be no mention of sex aside from being attracted and making out. There is no mention of sexual orientation. Violence is acceptable if it isn't graphic, alcohol, tobacco, and drug use can be referenced, but it will not be performed on the fiction.

5.) Be original, but remember, these are "normal" human teenagers. No magical powers, no mass murderers.

6.) Don't forget to look at the other reviews already here when you see them. I do read all of the reviews.

Here is the form to follow. Please post your characters in the "reviews" section for the first chapter only. This is the only place they'll be accepted. If you have any questions on the quality of my writing, or on my committal to seeing this project to it's conclusion I have another TDI fanfic where you can see a sample of what I can do (It's actually already done, I'm just putting it up in segments). Feel free to read and review it, I would greatly appreciate it.

Name: (First and Last. Middle is optional)

Age: (Minimum age is 14. Maximum is 17. No exceptions)

Gender: (Male or Female. No exceptions. There will be 8 of each competing.)

Nickname: (Optional)

**Aesthetic Traits** - These are simply to define your character's look, and won't really factor into how your character functions.

Eye color: (Stick to normal colors)

Hair color: (Stick to normal colors)

Height: (Variance is allowed, but be realistic)

Weight: (Variance is allowed, but be realistic)

Hometown: (Must be from America. If it is a major metropolitan area, like New York or Chicago, a city and state are fine. If it's a small city or the country, give an area and a state)

Clothes: (What does the character like to wear? Since these are acting challenges, characters will usually be in costume, but if they do something specific with their clothes, or if they don't do something normal, go ahead. Don't just rattle off outfits. I will, however, need a specific mention of bedclothes.)

**Personality Traits - **These are not aesthetic. Put a lot of time and thought into these. I will be deciding based on this.

Personality: What is the characters general attitude towards the other campers? Mention things that are both short and long term.

Morality: What is the characters moral compass? Do they play fair with the law, do they skirt it, or do they cheat?

Strategy: What is the character's philosophy at playing the game? Are they the type to make alliances, just go solo and gun for immunity each time?

Likes: (What does the character enjoy? This can be performing a certain action, or it can be a certain item)

Dislikes: (What does the character try to avoid? Again, this can be an action or an item)

Skills/Talents: (What can the character do very well? Be specific about what they do)

Partners: (Who does the character gravitate towards, and why? This is not simply romantic, it can also be what they look for in alliance partners. )

Genres: (Because this is a movie and TV related challenge, I will want a discussion on what types of movies they like, dislike, and even avoid. Be specific; my challenges are tailored for this.)

Errata: (Anything else not mention in other sections)


	2. A Second Chance

An update for all of you still eager to hear of this story. Yes, I am still pursuing this project, and yes, the application process is still open. I'm glad to see such interest already, and I have read each and every character submitted to me. Some I'm quite impressed with, some I can deal with, and some I will not be using.

I am posting this update to give everyone else another chance. Since I stated that I will not be accepting submissions by PM (I just don't think it's fair for people not to see the competition), I'm opening up another slot.

I won't be posting which characters have made it in and which I've rejected. I don't want to stifle your creative juices. Please, feel free to submit another character if you are questioning whether or not I will take it. Just to let you know, my ideal situation is to have only one submission per person, but, like I said before, quality is the most important virtue.

Don't forget to look over the rules I set. I'm not going to immediately disqualify you if you forget to follow, but it does show me you're paying attention and considering what I think, and that does tell me something.


	3. Partial List

Thank you all, for your submissions. Today, I shall be posting a partial list of the characters accepted. Any of the characters posted here will be taken "as is" and placed on Total Drama Action.

If you don't see your character on here, that doesn't mean I am not using it. Today and tonight, I'll be sending private messages to those whose characters I like, but need some changes or clarifications made. After all, even if it's just a simple name change, it would not be fair to do so without your consent.

If you don't see your character on the list and don't receive a message from me, then I have decided not to use your character. The application process is still open, so please, feel free to submit again. Before you do, however, please take a look at the characters I accepted. Look at what their writers did and didn't do, and that should be a valuable guide.

**Males Accepted**

1.) Benjamin "Ben" Grey - Submitted by Drey'sOXOFire

2.) Casey Zona - Submitted by scalec

3.) Mark Shepard - Submitted by KeptxoxPromises

**Females Accepted**

1.) Elizabeth "Ellie" Rose Swan - Submitted by mysterious-bluerose

2.) Kristen Rogers - Submitted by IvoryKeys26

3.) Meghan Samuels - Submitted by KeptxoxPromises

4.) Parker Williams - Submitted by WhatGoesUp-MustComeDown

5.) Victoria Wilde - Submitted by Victoria Poe

Again, these characters are locked in. I'll be sending messages out to other characters, but if you want to submit another character, please, feel free. Also, if you want to submit a charater, but are having trouble thinking, feel free to send me a message. I'll give you a few tips.

Free hint: Female slots are almost gone. Gun for a male character.


	4. One slot left

The list is almost complete. I am needing one more male character, and the games can begin. Here is a list of characters. Don't bother submitting female characters anymore, they will not be accepted.

1.) Benjamin Grey

2.) Casey Zona

3.) Christian Spencer

4.) Dustin Walker

5.) Doug Crawford

6.) Mark Shepard

7.) Stephen Wilde

Females Accepted

1.) Alice Elliston

2.) Elizabeth "Ellie" Rose Swan

3.) Kristen Rogers

4.) Madison Myers

5.) Meghan Samuels

6.) Parker Williams

7.) Sophie Spencer

8.) Victoria Wilde


	5. Standing at the Pearly Gates

And the application process is officially closed. Thank you, all of you, for taking the time to submit characters to me. I have taken them all into consideration and have chosen my final 16. Rather then just post a final list, I'll start with the introduction, as it's pretty much the same thing. And even if I didn't select your character here, there are a few that might show up later in the story in a non-contestant role, so tune in.

* * *

The studio tram car rolled slowly towards the lot. They never had much speed to begin with, but now it seemed to trudge even slower then usual. It's destination was the large, closed, studio gates, where Chris MacLean waited with a smirk on his face. As the car rolled in, he saw the faces. Mostly eager, these people, contestants for the reality show, seemed to be prepared for just about anything. The tram car rolled to a stop, and the contestants started to shuffle. Gathering their suitcases and duffel bags, they started to make their way off of the tram car. Chris found himself expecting to see a made pile up as they all exited at the same time, but instead they quite graciously took the steps one at a time. Chris grumbled slightly to himself as they exited the car.

The first contestant off the car was a skinny man with disheveled brown hair, wearing a slightly over sized Chicago Cubs T-shirt and jeans. He pushed towards Chris slowly.

"Welcome, Doug." Chris greeted.

"Hello." Doug returned. The two men looked at each other blinking for a moment.

"So, ready to show us your thespian skills?" Chris asked. Doug stared at him blankly, causing Chris's lips to purse into a frown.

"Just stand over there." Chris ordered Doug towards the studio gates, which Doug quietly picked up his suitcase and followed Chris's finger.

The next contestant to make it off the tram was a tanned girl with black hair. She walked off the tram with a confident stride as she handled her suitcases expertly, but the corners of her mouth were pressed into a smile, and her eyes sparkled a bit as she nodded politely towards the host.

"You made it. Welcome, Sophie."

"Hello, Chris. How are you doing, hon?." Her voice had the slightest hint of a Valley tinge.

"Good, thanks. You ready."

"Bring it on." She responded with a friendly determination as she wheeled her luggage over towards Doug, who shyly smiled at her.

In sheer contrast to Sophie's grace, the next contestant seemed reserved and distant. Her eyes seemed to be focusing behind the host; her asthetic beauty seemed almost off-set by her collected demeanor.

"Meghan, welcome." Chris greeted. Meghan didn't respond.

"I've always got to get the..." Chris started to move past her towards the tram car.

"Boo!" Meghan shouted the second he started to pass her, causing the host to fall on his backside. She chuckled with mischief as the host dusted off his outfit.

"You're such a spaz." She told the host.

"Pot calling the kettle." Chris growled.

"Welcome, Ben." Chris turned towards the next contestant, a tall man with a bulky camera slung around his neck.

"Glad to be here, Chris." Ben chuckled a little. "Ready to see some good material."

"Long as you don't sell them to the tabloids." Chris replied. "Or if you do, you get my good side. And a cut of the profits. Go ahead and join the others." Ben set his luggage down towards the other campers, his gaze settling upon Sophie.

"What's up, sugar." She smiled. "If you want a picture, feel free."

"Not...not here." He replied. "This isn't a good place."

The next girl descended from the tram car with a thick book in her hand. Her shag cut scarlet hair almost seemed to make her look edgy, if she didn't seem so aloof.

"Hey, there, Madison." Chris greeted. Madison placed her finger in the book to save her spot, and smiled at Chris, but her smile seemed plastered, and didn't extend to her eyes, which remained distant. Without another word, she stood over near the other contestants, and engrossed herself in her book once again, barely acknowledging her competition.

A dark haired young man stepped off the tram next. His features were classically beautiful, with piercing eyes, a chiseled chin, and a defined physique, but he certainly appeared to be a marble carving. Not a flicker of feeling registered in those beautiful eyes.

"Hello, Mark. Glad you got here, dude."

"Chris MacLean." Mark acknowledged Chris directly, but not in a friendly manner.

"Is this my competition?" Mark looked over at the competitors. His eyes settled on Madison.

"Not bad." He responded. His eyes darted towards the book she was reading.

"_Agamemnon? _Well, don't worry, hon, I'll believe your prophecies." He moved on her. Madison barely acknowledged him, lost in her reading.

"Well, this might be fun." He chuckled as he took his place.

The next group got off the tram in a pair.

"Stephen and Victoria. You both made it." Chris greeted them.

"Related?" Ben wondered. "They don't look alike." Stephen looked like a muscle-bound jock with a slight sneer on his face, while Victoria had deep red hair and seemed quite wiry. It wasn't until he looked into their eyes that he saw the resemblance.

"Heh. What a mess of people we got here." Stephen chided the other hosts.

"At least we don't have stains on our shirts." Meghan replied. Stephen started to look down, when Meghan pushed him lightly with both fists.

"Prankster?" He wondered. "Well, this might be interesting." Victoria, rather then involve herself in her brother's intrigue, took a seat against the wall and started writing in a notebook.

Chris turned back towards the tram, where the next contestant had already gotten off. With pale blonde hair and deep blue eyes, Mark found himself cocking an eyebrow at her.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Chris greeted. The girl didn't look at Chris directly when she returned his greeting. She skitted off nervously towards the other campers, but remained removed from the crowd, sitting near Victoria. The two women ignored each other and concentrated on the paper in their hands. It was a silence they both seemed to enjoy.

A copper-haired young man stepped off the tram next. With a baseball glove in his hand, wearing a Yankee's jersey, and matching team stickers adorning his luggage, it was no surprise what this guy was passionate about.

"Welcome, Dustin."

"Hey, there, Chris. Nice to be here, dude." Dustin was warm and laughed as though it was natural for him.

"Nice glove." Stephen saw the new camper. "This ain't the minors."

"You never heard of sports movies?" Dustin returned. His eyes turned to Doug, who, quiet as always, acknowledged him without a word.

"Chicago Cubs? One of two teams who my Yanks hasn't lost too. But still nice to meet you, mate."

"Hello, there, Kristen." Chris turned back towards the tram, where a girl seemed to be having a bit of trouble getting her luggage off the tram. She managed to step down and tossed her hair around before acknowledging the host. She certainly seemed every bit the tomboy, with her dark clothes, and large skateboard.

"Nice to see everyone." She responded in a casual manner. "Looks like it's time for the show." A few of the guys smiled at her rough and casual approach to first impressions.

The next contestant seemed the exact opposite of the skater girl.

"Welcome to the show, Sheldon." Chris extended his hand for a handshake, but Sheldon didn't go for it.

"Who knows where that hand has been." Sheldon returned, walking right past the host. He pushed his glasses up his nose as he regarded the other campers.

"If you want to save yourselves the trouble of being humiliated on television just to lose to me, feel free to drop out." Sheldon told the other campers, causing quite a number to scowl at him.

"Sure thing." Meghan replied sarcastically. "We'll keep that in mind."

"Well, I know who not to hang around with." Dustin pursed his lips.

A large grouping of suitcases appeared to be the next contestant off of the tram. After they got off of the tram, they saw the owner of those cases, a short girl dressed in white and pearls.

"That's a lot of hardware." Sophie replied.

"Shoes." The girl replied. "I don't have many clothes, but I do have some shoes."

"Alice. Welcome." Chris greeted. She smiled and bowed her head a little at him.

"It is my pleasure." She moved her suitcases towards the others.

"That's some collection." Madison noted. Alice took a look at her, and Madison almost seemed taken aback, but Alice's look was friendly.

"With so many options, a girl can never had bad feet." Alice said graciously.

A fire haired woman was the next contestant off of the tram. Her eyes darted around, quickly taking in Chris and the other contestants. She fingered a scarf around her neck and moved towards Chris.

"Parker, you made it, girl." Chris acknowledged.

"Good to see you, too. Hope the challenges get started soon, I'm looking forward to it."

"They will, and soon you'll be wishing you weren't." Chris chuckled.

"I'm sure." Parker replied with sarcasm. "Hi, everyone."

"Hey, gorgeous." Mark smirked. Parker seemed to look at him strangely, and seemed to consider her options before not returning his greeting.

"Well, here we go. Bring it on." Mark seemed almost elated at her response.

"Well, now things are going to get wild. Here's Casey." Chris turned to the tram, where a man with multi-hued hair stepped off.

"Hello, Rainbow Bright." Stephen commented to himself. Meghan chuckled, but Victoria shot her brother a glare.

"Hi, Chris." He high-fived the host.

"Good thing you're here, bro." Chris smiled. Casey settled back and started to make friendly conversation with Sophie and Alice.

"And last, but not least, we have Christian. Hey, dude."

"Lookin' to have me a good time here, Chris." The man spoke with a leisurely Southern drawl. He turned to the contestants.

"Hey, ya'll." He cheered. Most returned his greeting.

"He seems nice." Kristen acknowledged.

"And nice to see." Parker returned. "Sure is easy on the eyes."

"Campers." Chris moved over to the studio gates, gathering their attention. Books and notepads were put away as all the campers stood at attention.

"This is Total Drama Action, and this old studio lot will be your home for the next couple of weeks. You'll be competing in challenges based on movie and television genres, all for the chance at winning a cool cash prize. After every challenge, the winners will be safe, while the losers will be voting off one of their competitors to take a walk down the Red Carpet of Shame, board the Lame-o-sine, and spend the rest of their days as a has-been. So, come on in, drop off your crap, and get ready for the adrenaline pumping, fear-inducing stunts you are all completely unprepared for." As Chris finished his sentence, the studio lot slowly started to open.

* * *

_"16 campers in, and only one will take home the prize_. _Who will sink, and who will swim. Who will fall, who will soar? Find out on this season of Total...Drama...Action!"_


	6. Fun with Censors

"Contestants, welcome again to the second season of Total Drama Action. As you know already, this season is going to have challenges based on movie and television genres. There will be a new challenge each week, with winners and losers. The losers will then vote someone out to take the humiliating walk down the Red Carpet of Shame, board the Lame-o-sine, and get sent back home. This will continue until there is only one camper left, and that person will be crowned the winner and receive the grand prize of one million dollars." Chris announced the rules of the game. Most of the campers seemed eager and excited as Chris delivered the announcement of the prize.

"There's a lot we can do with that kind of scratch." Dustin replied. "Season tickets every year is just a start."

"I'm thinking something a little more flashy." Alice voiced. "There's this great pair of Jimmy Choo's not even in the States yet. They'd look excellent on me. And I'd have plenty of money to spare."

"Hang on a second." Chris interrupted the contestant's thoughts of luxury. "That money isn't in your pockets just yet. There's going to be a few twists this year. For starters, we've added the Silver Screen award." Chris held up a small, silver-plated trophy shaped like himself and dangled in front of the contestants tantalizingly.

"Exactly what the world needed. More trophies shaped like you." Meghan sarcastically jabbed. Chris ignored her.

"One of these will be awarded at end of the challenge, and it will be given to the person who gives the best acting performance on either team. So polish up your skills, dudes, we're not paying you to sit around."

"You're not paying us at all." Parker corrected. "What does the silver Chris thing do?"

"You know, I was going to tell you, but decided it would be a lot funnier not to. I'll be giving these out at the end of the challenges, and you'll know who they'll be given to, but you're not going to know what they do. They won't save you from being voted out, they won't make your lives easier. But I will tell you that there are benefits to winning these. That's all you need to know."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Is it worth it to try and get some stupid trophy for a prize that we're not even sure will even be useful?" Mark confessed. "Yeah, it is. Even if it turns out to be a lie, I don't want this to bite me in the butt later on."  


* * *

Chris opened the gates to the studio, and started to lead the contestants inside.

"So, Chris. What's the first challenge, hon?" Sophie asked. Chris didn't answer her question, he just kept walking forward.

"Chris?" Doug compounded, but Chris ignored him as well. Eventually, Chris led the group to a very large stage.

"Your first challenge is going to start right here." Chris delivered.

"Aren't we supposed to be in teams."

"In time." Chris replied. "Teams will be chosen after this challenge. Since this is the first challenge, we're going to start you with the lowest form of all movies." The contestants looked around, but didn't see anything that would tip them off.

"It's not a porno, is it?" Casey asked. Chris seemed repulsed by that thought, and quickly shook his head.

"Even worse." He replied. "Come on, no guesses?" He taunted them.

"Chris, just tell us!" Alice scowled, causing the other campers to be surprised at her sudden outburst.

"Fine." Chris crossed his arms. "Your first challenge and movie genre...is children's movies."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"What's so bad about children's movies?" Ellie confessed. "Some are pretty lame, but some of them are even better then some of the trite Hollywood stuff that gets put out now."  


* * *

"Your challenge is going to start as a free-for-all, but it doesn't need to end that way. Feel free to team up, but remember that the teams will be decided later." Chris started to go over the rules.

"This is a children's movie, and the task is simple. It's just getting from Point A to Point B."

"And on the way you're going to have the entire population of Murdertown trying their hardest to stop us." Sheldon replied.

"Not really." Chris shrugged. "It's just going to be one person. But that one person is going to be Chef, who will be taking the role of villain. Come on out, Chef." At Chris's command, Chef stepped out from behind the stage curtain.

"That...shouldn't be too bad." Victoria noted. "Chef is just one person."

"There's more. Chef will be wielding his favorite paintball cannon. If you get shot, you're out of the contest."

"Okay, that...could be worse." Ben replied. "But where does the kid's movie come in?"

"Oh, that's an easy one." Chris chuckled. "You're all going to be followed by these." Chris took a remote out of his pocket and pushed a few buttons. A minute later, a few floating round robot-like devices surrounded Chris.

"These are what I like to call Censor-bots. It doesn't do a whole lot." Chris gestured towards the creatures. "One of them will be following each of you. If you do anything that's inappropriate for a children's movie, it'll make a loud sound."

"And that means it'll be easier for Chef to find us?" Christian asked. "Wow, that's interesting."

"No." Chris shot down. "If those things beep, you're immediately disqualified. You can't win the challenge. If you destroy it or stuff it in a trash can or something, you're disqualified as well."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)  
_"I said these challenges would be based on movies, not actual movies. The looks on their faces told me they weren't expecting this." Chris confessed.

* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"There goes my plan to quickly win this." Mark replied. "We've really got to be on our toes today. One inappropriate scratch, and that's the end. And it's not good to crap out on the first challenge."  


* * *

"You will all be headed towards Studio Lot G. The first two people to reach the lot are safe from being kicked off, and everyone else is at risk. Chef will give you a five minute head start. And...begin!" Chris announced.

Once the challenge started, Parker hit the ground running, taking off before the others even realized she had gone.

"Why don't we stick together, sugar?" Sophie asked Christian. "We can look both ways."

"Room for another?" Kristen offered. "I saw last season, and Chef's pretty good at tracking people down."

"Sure." Christian agreed. "Having three won't be bad at all." While the three of them spoke, Meghan started the challenge, darting down alleyways and spilling trash cans behind her.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"She might be trying to stop people from seeing her, or maybe she just loves the sound. But she's really loud, and I wouldn't want to partner with her here." Stephen confessed.  


* * *

Stephen parted ways with his sister and joined up with Doug and Dustin, who simply followed him without a word. Victoria looked around for a moment before nodding silently towards Madison and Ellie. The three women started making their way back towards the gates.

Mark looked around for a second before deciding to chase after Parker. Sheldon waited a little later before following him.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"My plan to make it through this challenge is to stay close, but not be in a group with, the other campers. That way, I can disappear when I hear Chef coming, and he'll get them, not me." Sheldon confessed.  


* * *

The remaining three decided to team up together.

"Are you really good with a camera?" Alice asked Ben. He only nodded at her.

"Well, I'm sure when this show is over, the magazines will be all over your pictures. Could make some good money off of it." She replied. "Don't forget to take a few of me."

"After the challenge. Let me...let me just see what I have to work with." Ben adjusted the strap around his neck so the camera wouldn't dangle too far.

"I think you two should worry less about pictures. We've only got three minutes before Chef can get us. Come on, let's make the most of this challenge." Casey clapped his hands loudly before he started running off.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I think people were still a little freaked out by Alice when she screamed at Chris. But honestly, it's no big deal. Everyone has bad moments, that doesn't mean we just write them off as simply evil." Casey confessed.  


* * *

"Which way is Studio G?" Alice asked.

"I have no idea." Casey replied. "But I think when we came this way we passed Studio B and C. So we should probably just head further back to the studio to find letter G."  


* * *

"See anything that would be helpful?" Dustin asked.

"No." Doug replied. They had been following building after building, trying to find a studio, but they had just been finding warehouse after warehouse marked with numbers.

"This can't be right. How big can this studio be anyway?" Stephen wondered.

"It's big." Doug replied. "But the numbers are going down here."

"That way leads back to the gates." Stephen replied. "We've already seen that area."

"What's the other way?" Dustin asked. No one answered.

"I guess we'll..." He started to move, then felt something hit him in the side. He looked down at his shirt and saw a bright blue splotch on his side. A paint ball. He turned towards the direction of the shot, but saw nothing.

"Hey." Stephen called over to him. "Quit standing like you've been hit by a milk truck."

"Not a milk truck." Dustin responded. "I'm out at third."

"What on..." Stephen started to respond before he heard the shots coming. A few paint balls whizzed by his head and splattered on the nearby warehouse. Instinctively, Stephen ducked down and turned towards the shots. Dustin looked too to discover Chef, emerging from the alley, paint ball cannon in hand. He fired another salvo at Stephen and Doug, who split up and ran. Chef chose to chase Stephen, firing many shots at him. Stephen opted to bob and weave, trying to reach the warehouses for cover. But, before he could reach it, Chef opted to fire randomly, smacking Stephen right in the back. He grunted. Cackling gleefully, Chef turned to fire upon Doug, only to see that Doug was nowhere to be found. Chef picked up speed and started to run towards him.  


* * *

After leaving the stage, Meghan had darted between alleyways and found herself at what appeared to be a bunch of trailers. They were all locked, with no clues as to whether or not this would be their sleeping quarters or not.

A thought occurred for Meghan to draw a happy face on the trailer door with her lipstick, but the thought dismissed itself.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"There's a lot of fun to be had around here, but when you're alone, it's not as fun." Meghan confessed. "Pranks need to be tailored."  


* * *

Meghan went past the trailers and saw the next building. It appeared to be one of the studios. Studio J.

"I must be getting close." She thought. "And I haven't seen Chef or the other campers. Maybe I'm just lucky." There were no other buildings that resembled the studio nearby, so Meghan decided to take a quick peek inside the studio to see if she could find a map. Studio J contained a backdrop of a quaint village, with a large setting in the foreground of the side of a house with a balcony.

"Like those stupid romance movies." Forgetting the challenge for a moment, she looked up at the stage.

"Heh. I'm some dumb bombshell standing at the balcony for my prince to ride in. All to put stories in the heads of little girls. It's all a damn waste." Meghan chuckled at herself, but then she heard a low whine. She turned around, and remembered that floating robot Chris had sent out. While it had been forgettable before, now, it's was flashing red and emitting some strange noise at her profanity.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Parents are too uptight these days. What's so bad about that word. This is exactly the reason why kids are so screwed up, because parents only care about swear words more then actual problems." Meghan confessed.  


* * *

Parker was making excellent time. She always loved to run, but running and trying to make a cool million out of it was even better. She hadn't seen the studio yet, but it looked like she was coming up to what appeared to be a watchtower.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Where is this, a prison? I guess it's just a piece of scenery. But still, I can get a pretty good view from up there." Parker confessed. "Maybe there will be something I can see up there."  


* * *

There was no ladder or anything to help her reach the top, but the support beams were wide enough for Parker to get a good grip, so she started her ascent.

"Hey there." A voice called to her as she was reaching the summit. Nervously, she glanced down, scared that it might be Chef, but breathed easy when she noticed that it was only Mark.

"What are you doing, scaring me like that?" Parker chided. "Do you want me to fall."

"I'm just telling you I could see you from a good distance away. You're rather exposed up there." Parker was about to comment that she wasn't wearing a skirt, but worried that the censors might not appreciate that.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"See anything interesting." Mark dodged her question. "Anything you like." He rolled up his sleeve and flexed his bicep.

"Can it." Parker replied.

"You're not going to find anything up there." Mark replied. "You're just telling Chef to come and hunt you down." Scowling, Parker ignored him for a moment and looked around the lot. But there was nothing that told her where Studio G was. She climbed down towards Mark, who stifled a small laugh.

"What do you want?" Parker frowned.

"I came from Studios C and D. Thought you might like to know the right direction, at least." He tempted.

"Forget it. I don't trust you, Mark. I know your type. You just want to play me."

"We're all here to play each other, princess. Haven't you forgot that's what these shows are based on." Mark corrected. "And that's the most honesty you'll get out of anyone here."

"You mock me." Parker was incensed. "I won't stand for it."

"When it comes down to it, your best bet it to trust someone who is honest about what they do here."

"Forget it." Parker replied. "You're just not my type." She sprinted off again.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Confidence borne of ignorance. Parker just doesn't understand the nature of this game. She's too emotional. But on the other hand, I do like me a challenge," Mark confessed.  


* * *

Ellie, Madison, and Victoria moved in total silence. The nature of the challenge discouraged hiding, so the girls decided that the best course of action was to be completely silent, and not even say a word.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Silence is golden. They say that in the theater's for a reason. Besides, that way, we won't trigger those censor robot things." Madison confessed.  


* * *

The girls had maneuvered their way back towards the entrance, believing there would be the best place to find a map of the studio. When they reached the gates, they fanned out. Victoria opted to head towards the security station. She rifled through the drawers. There was no maps to be found.

Before she left the gates, Ellie had come over to her. Victoria shook her head because she hadn't found anything. Ellie looked towards the computer screen.

"Cameras." She broke the long silence. "Maybe they can help us find it." The computer, surprisingly, had no password or anything, so Ellie started flipping through the screens. Victoria stepped back to allow Ellie some space, and left the guard house.

"Madison?" She wondered. Madison had gone off to find a map, and had disappeared.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I didn't think she would go too far. Did she see where to go and go for the win?" Victoria confessed.  


* * *

As Victoria puzzled that in her head, she heard a muffled scream. She turned around to look and saw Chef running towards her, with venom in his eyes and his paintball gun turned towards her. Victoria attempted to dodge the incoming shots, but she misjudged her distance and ended up out of the game. Ellie didn't hear what was going on until Victoria dove for the ground, and by then, Chef had already advanced in upon her, and it was too late to do anything. After Chef eliminated her, Ellie helped Victoria to her feet, where Madison, similarly eliminated, joined them.

"Let's find a quiet place. I don't want to lose my bookmark." Madison offered.  


* * *

Sheldon had lost track of Mark. There had been the sound of running close by, and Sheldon had ducked into a nearby warehouse, worried that it would be Chef. The footsteps had passed, but when Sheldon returned, Mark was gone.

"Oh well." He sighed. "I'll just get there on my own."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"This game is mine to win." Sheldon confessed. "But I guess they wouldn't be able to fill the season with episodes if they just gave me the money now. I guess I can do these stupid challenges if I'm getting a million out of it."  


* * *

Sheldon heard footsteps again soon after leaving the warehouse, but saw that it wasn't Chef. It was Doug, who must have somehow gotten separated from the other two he was with, the brother and the baseball nut, if Sheldon remembered correctly.

"Wait up." He called. Doug stopped and turned.

"Hello." He replied.

"Have you seen Chef?" Sheldon asked.

"He was back there. Shot the other two, he didn't find me."

"Well, that's fortunate, Hey, what was over that way?" Sheldon asked.

"Warehouses." Doug answered.

"Not the studio, then. Alright. Doug, why don't you stick with me for a while." Sheldon offered. "We can help each other out."

"Okay." Doug agreed, and the two men started to set out.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"It's nice that we can all be friends here." Doug confessed.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Doug isn't the brightest bulb in the box. He talks slowly and ponderously, and he's quite clueless. That's fine with me. He's a big strong ox, though, and that's something I could definitely use. And when it gets closer to the end of the game, and his strength gets in the way, I'll take him out and he won't even see it coming. Sometimes, the simplest strategies are the best." Sheldon confessed.  


* * *

Alice seemed to be getting frustrated. Ben had been trying to lead the group, but when the group went in a complete circle and ended up by the stage, Alice started tapping her foot impatiently.

"Which way haven't we gone, Casey?" Ben asked.

"We haven't gone that way."

"Yes we have." Alice interrupted. "We're going in circles. We didn't go that way." Alice pointed in a different direction.

"That's towards the entrance." Ben corrected. "We saw those on our way here."

"Come on!" Alice was upset. "We're losing. We're the only ones back here at the stage because you guys can't navigate. Why can't any of you retards do anything right?" She shouted. A shrill whine brought their attention to the censor robot, clearly voicing it's disapproval.

"You've got to be kidding me." Alice picked up the floating robot and threw it to the ground.

"Whoa, chill!" Casey tried to calm her. "The robot didn't do anything wrong."

"Shut up!" Alice returned.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_"Wow, Alice does a complete 180 when push comes to shove." Ben confessed. "I'm not sure I really want that in a partner."  


* * *

"Alice, if you keep shouting, Chef will find us." Casey reminded.

"I'm already out." Alice's voice was quieter, but still upset. "But okay, fine."

"Let's do this thing, Casey." Ben replied.

"Yeah, let's go wild." Casey cheered. The two men cheered as they started down towards a new path. About ten minutes later, they ended up back at the stage.

"What?" Ben wondered. "I was pretty sure we turned right that last time."

"This time, just try heading straight and don't stop until you reach the walls of the studio." Alice replied. "I'm just going to sit here and wait for Chris." Her composure had returned almost immediately.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)  
"_Ben just doesn't think of plans at all." Casey confessed. "He's really cool and fun, don't get me wrong, but when it comes to this, he just follows the same paths. I think it's time I took charge."  


* * *

Kristen crept along quietly towards the northern side of the studio. She had seen Studio H, and was excited at the prospect of finding this Studio G. However, no building nearby had such a letter. Soon, she had found Studio F.

"Did we pass it?" Christian asked. He had decided to go in a different direction to help find the studio, but seemed to have no luck.

"I don't think so, sugar." Sophie replied. "Maybe we've got this backwards. We're thinking Studio G is a big old studio building."

"So it might just be a shack or a trailer or something?" Kristen asked.

"I guess that could be it. Let's split up." Christian split the groups up. He decided to look past Studio F, Sophie headed back towards Studio H, while Kristen decided to check out a group of nearby trailers.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I think that's a good group I've got around me. Sophie's pretty cool, and Christian, well, he's real nice. And he's gorgeous." Kristen confessed.  


* * *

Kristen took a peek around the trailers. With a little fenced in garden around the outside and a large studio van parked next to it, she figured this might be a cast trailer. But, just in case, she decided to take a closer look. She heard footsteps running behind her, and saw another contestant running towards her. It was that girl Parker.

"Studio G, this is it." She replied. "Oh, uh, Kristen, right? You got here first?" Kristen seemed surprised for a minute. Where was the sign that this was Studio G? Was it on the side of the trailer Parker came from? No wonder she couldn't find it.

"Yeah. Bummer, huh. But you got second. You're safe at least." As Kristen finished speaking, Chris emerged from the trailer.

"Here already? Not bad. Okay then, I'll make the announcement."  


* * *

"Well then, the challenge is over." Chris had assembled all of the campers. "These two babes found the place first, so you know what that means. They're safe tonight." Chris motioned towards Kristen and Parker, who simply accepted the praise quietly.

"What happens now?" Sheldon asked.

"The vote off. Things are going to be different tonight. There will be no Silver Screen award, and there will be no votes. Instead, we're going to choose teams. And one of you, the last person standing, is going to be eliminated.

"Hey wait, won't that make the teams uneven?" Dustin asked.

"And?" Chris replied. "Equal members doesn't make one team stronger. Now, Kristen, you found the lot first. You can either take first pick, or you can take last pick."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"My immediate response was to say first pick, but before I spoke, I started to think." Kristen confessed. "There's a reason why Chris separated out last pick, and so I thought about it for a second. That's when it hit me. I'd have the extra teammate."  


* * *

"I'll go second." Kristen decided. "Go ahead." She smiled at Parker, who started to think for a moment.

"I'll pick Mark." She delivered. Mark chuckled, and stood over beside her.

* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I might be crazy, but he's right. If someone's going to stab me in the back, I figure it might as well be someone who willingly admits it." Parker confessed.  


* * *

"My girl Sophie!" Kristen cheered. Sophie immediately ran over and gave her teammate a hug. Parker started thinking again, and thought for a long time before deciding on Dustin. He swung his arms as if he was swinging a bat as he cheered.

"Christian." Kristen pointed to her Southern gentleman.

"Elizabeth." Parker made her next suggestion. Ellie grabbed her sketchpad and smiled politely at her team captain.

"I want Doug." Kristen made her next selection. Parker took another long pause, trying to weigh all of her options.

"Uhhh...Casey. I'll take Casey." Parker settled. He let out a rancourous cheer as he joined his team. Kristen started to make her next decision, but Doug called her name before she delivered it. She listened to him, nodding slightly.

"Okay. We'll take Sheldon." Kristen decided. As Sheldon joined his new team, he chuckled inwardly at his planning.

"Victoria, please." Victoria joined her new team.

"Shutterbug, Ben." Kristen delivered her next choice.

"Stephen." In contrast to her previous deliberations, Parker seemed to make her next choice rather quickly. Now it was Kristen's turn to weigh her choices.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I'm talking with Sophie and Christian about which person to take. Madison's really quiet and aloof, and I don't know if her book talents will be helpful since Sheldon's already the book guy. Meghan's just crazy, and she'll play pranks on anyone, and Alice supposedly has a temper tantrum. It's not an easy decision, but these decisions are all mine now. I think I know what I'm doing."  


* * *

"I'll take Alice." Kristen decided. Alice pushed her headband back and joined her group.

"Okay, so there's only one camper left. And the decision now is all up to Kristen."

"Kristen?" Parker asked. "It's my turn."

"He said I got last pick didn't I?" Kristen replied. "Alright, I think I know who I want. Come on over, Madison." Madison joined the team, while Meghan stood there, a little dumbstruck about what just happened.

"That's it, dude." Chris told the fallen camper. "You're out. Red Carpet's that-a-way." He pointed towards the gates. Meghan started down the walk, practically stunned that this happened. She entered the limo. As it started to drive away, however, the limo seemed to swerve wildly.

"I guess she got one last prank in on the driver." Stephen chuckled.

"Get some sleep tonight, dudes, cause you'll need it. Studio G has two trailers here which will serve as your cabins. The real game starts tomorrow."


	7. Fantasy Flyers

"Congratulations to all of you for passing the first challenge." Chris greeted the two newly assembled teams. "You're now one step closer to getting that million dollars. For now, you are two teams, and will be competing in team-based challenges. Eventually, those teams will be dissolved, and you'll be competing against each other. Just remember that when you're voting."

Chris turned to Parker's team.

"Your team will be called the Sweeping Swing Gang."

"The what?" Parker asked.

"It could be worse." Victoria replied silently.

"We sound like a motorcycle gang." Mark noted sourly. "A really bad motorcycle gang."

"And for Kristen's team, you will be the Boomers." Chris turned to the other team.

"Boomers?" Christian asked.

"I think that's worse then the Swing Gang." Benjamin added.

"Your next challenge will start bright and early tomorrow. These two trailers will be your sleeping quarters. Divide them up however you want. As for me, I'm out." Chris departed, leaving the campers to their trailers.

"I hope he remembered to unlock the other trailer." Sheldon noted snidely.

"Boys in one, girls in the other." Kristen stated.

"Nice question." Mark jabbed. "But they say some girls are really ugly without their makeup. Wonder if it's worth breaking the illusion."

"Get bent." Parker replied.  


* * *

In the guys' trailer, things were rather harmonious. Each guy seemed to gravitate towards a bunk without incident or complaint.

"Is everyone turning in right now?" Dustin asked.

"Probably for the best." Ben replied. "It's getting late, and we want to be at peak for the challenge tomorrow." The guys made no further conversation, and soon turned the lights out.  


* * *

Over in the girls' trailer, things started out just as civil when it came to choosing bed space, but soon things started to get tense. Although there was no toilet in the trailer, there was some vanity space near the door to store toiletries. The guys had little more then combs, toothbrushes, and the odd prescription, which left them plenty of space. But for women, with varying shades of makeup and it's tools, space became limited quickly.

"It's not a big deal for me. I hate that girly crap." Kristen seemed nonchalant.

"You'd a think a metro like Chris would understand that this stuff takes us space." Sophie seemed frustrated.

"He probably knows, and thinks it's funny." Alice seemed increasingly aggravated, the vein on her forehead seemed to almost double in size.

"Let's figure it out tomorrow." Madison, trying to avoid a possible confrontation, tried to mediate. The girls seemed to agree, and took to their bunks.  


* * *

The next day, Casey awoke early. He jumped out of bed, half-expecting to find Chris or some extremely unpleasant surprise waiting for him. But the trailer itself was quiet. Casey silently got out of his bed and went to the front to get his toothbrush. As he passed by the door, he snuck a quick peek out the window, and thought he saw something strange. He quickly opened the door to see the source, and found himself staring in wonder for a moment. Overnight, it seemed as though the entire lot had changed.

"What?" Casey wondered. Sitting right outside of the trailers was a large tree that hadn't been there before. If that wasn't odd enough, instead of fruit, it appeared to be growing pieces of cake, dangling just like apples.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Even if this wasn't a reality show, this isn't normal. Best to approach with caution." Casey confessed.  


* * *

The tree and cake were both fake.

"Which makes sense, I guess." Casey mumbled to himself. "Trees don't grow out of pavement."

"Hey!" A voice called from the doorway of the trailer. Casey turned to see Dustin standing there.

"It's fake." Casey replied.

"I figured. Trees don't get that big overnight. What is it doing there?"

"It's probably part of our challenge, but I don't see Chris anywhere."

"Well, whatever it is, we won't win the challenge in our shorts. Let's get changed first and see if Chris shows up."  


* * *

All of the contestants woke up a little bit later. There were other strange occurrences besides the fake cake tree, but neither Chris nor anyone else had shown up to explain anything.

"Nothing taped on the door?" Victoria asked. Madison shook her head.

"This is very..." Ben started to look around a little, but then started to hear a strange sound, coming from under the boys' trailer. He crouched down to look and saw a shadow moving underneath. He reached under to grab it, and fished out a rather peculiar looking creature. It appeared to be some sort of badger-like creature, but it wore glasses and carried an envelope in his hands.

"Ooh-ooh, predators!" The creature spoke, startling Ben to the point of dropping it. It fell to the ground with a resounding "oof"

"What on Earth?" Parker wondered. "What is this little thing?"

"I am the Crown Prince of the Empire of Badgers. Who are you to be calling a thing?" The creature not only spoke eloquently, but seemed quite indignant.

"Cheeky little..." Alice started to scowl.

"To be called upon to be a courier. How rude!" The badger-creature threw down the envelope at Ben's feet before scampering off underneath the trailer and out of sight.

"Badgers can't talk or wear glasses." Doug replied. "What is this?"

"Our next challenge." Sophie had picked up the letter and read it.

"It says 'Your first challenge is fantasy. Leave what brains you have at the door and meet me at the Citadel of Varna. First team with all their members there wins. Signed, Chris."

"Even when he writes, he's an insulting prick." Stephen commented.

"I guess we need to assemble and move then. Over here, Swing Gang." Parker motioned for her team to join her.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"This looks like it might be kind of fun." Sophie confessed. "A little silly, perhaps. But we're not serious all the time."  


* * *

The Boomers started to make their way towards the gates of the studio. Madison had informed the team that there were security cameras near the gate, and that seemed like the best place to get their bearings, as Chris had offered no support as to where this citadel was supposed to be.

"Hold on." Sheldon spoke. "Things look weird up ahead." Ahead of the group was a group of conspicuously placed brushes.

"They rustle, but there is no wind." Christian agreed. "Something is hiding there."

"Who's going to step up?" Kristen asked. No one replied.

"Aren't you the team leader?" Sheldon egged.

"I'll go." Ben replied. He stepped up towards the bushes, and nothing happened. He stepped even closer, and nothing happened. The rustling didn't even change.

"It might be..." Ben started to walk even closer, until he was in between the bushes, and then, something changed. From out of one of the bushes came another strange creature. This one seemed to be a girl, but the creature was nothing human. It was only one foot tall and flew on a pair of small wings.

"Pixie." Ben thought to himself. "Call it what it is."

"What're you doing here in our forest." The creature spoke in a high-pitched voice.

"Forest?" Ben asked. "Those bushes are fake. And that's all there is."

"We won't let infidels defile our forest!" Another equally bubbly voice sounded from another bush, and two similar pixie creatures floated up from different bushes.

"You've got to be kidding me. Chris and his robot fetish." Sheldon scowled.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Whether it's Chris's robots or puppets or whatever, I wasn't exactly sure how to deal with them. Then I just decided to do what I always do in these sorts of situations." Ben confessed.  


* * *

"Say cheese." Ben quickly snapped a shot of the lead pixie. As soon as the flash ended, the pixie's voice seemed to warble and speak incoherently. A second later, it fell to the ground in a crash. Ben took a look to reveal that, indeed, it was another of Chris's robots.

"I guess they don't take kindly to flash." Christian noted. Ben quickly snapped shots of the rest of them.

"What a waste of good film. They aren't even real." Ben lamented as the rest of the team joined him.  


* * *

The Swing Gang decided to head for the wall of the studio.

"It would be easy to get on top of a building roof from there. That way, we can look all around." Parker had directed. Mark was surprisingly quiet, which bothered Parker a little.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"It surprises me that he would not want to be the one in the driver's seat. That'll make it easier to ignore him, however." Parker confessed.  


* * *

As the teams moved towards the gate, they soon heard rustling sounds.

"We're being followed?" Victoria asked.

"It's not the other team." Ellie added. The team spread out to be able to look in a full circle, but saw nothing.

"Keep moving." Parker replied. "But don't go too fast. And watch above and below, too." The team kept on walking until they came to the wall. The sounds were following them, but they made no effort to reveal themselves.

"We shouldn't climb the wall until that's been dealt with." Mark replied. "It's coming from that building." Mark pointed towards a small prop warehouse.

"How about Slugger and the Drawing girl go in, and the rest keep watch out here." At the mention of that, Ellie seemed to pale a little.

"I don't...I don't like...tight spots." She protested shyly.

"I'll go, then." Victoria stood up to her brother. She nodded to Dustin, and they both entered the building. Inside, they saw a woman shuffling cards at a small table. No one else was in the room, and there appeared to be no entrances or exits.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I knew that couldn't be the reason for those sounds." Dustin confessed. "But at the same time, this intrigues me. It might be a clue."  


* * *

Dustin and Victoria approached the shuffling woman, who did not acknowledge her presence with words or gestures.

"Hello." Dustin asked, but the woman resumed shuffling. She shuffled for a brief minute before spreading the cards face-down on the table in front of her.

"Everything changes." The woman replied. "You changed by entering this room. You changed my parlor."

"Parlor?" Dustin asked.

"Where shall your path lead? Where ever it goes, it will be changed from here, just as it was changing before today.

"We are looking for the Citadel of Varna. Do you know of it." Dustin asked. Victoria shyly stood behind him, watching intently.

"It is not here." The woman replied. A moment of silence passed.

"With this knowledge." The woman replied. "You still remain? Your path changes yet again."

"Do you know where it lies." Dustin asked. The woman didn't reply. Instead, she gathered her cards and shuffled them again.

"Draw." She lay her cards face-down. Dustin frowned for a second, and picked one of the cards and flipped it over. Instead of seeing a playing card, this card had a picture of a full moon lying on it.

"The Moon."The women echoed it's name. "The card of deception and lies. The Citadel lies back the way you came."

"You admit it's a lie, old woman." Dustin seemed a little impatient. The old woman shuffled her cards again, and Dustin drew again. He didn't draw The Moon. Rather, he drew the card with a man on the face, raising a magic wand towards the heavens.

"The Magician." The woman spoke again. "Creativity and logic. The Citadel lies in today. It shall vanish with the morning."

"That is no answer." Victoria noted. Dustin was silent, looking only at the cards.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I don't claim to know much about this occult stuff, but they use it in TV shows and crap all the time. The woman mouthed on and on about change being the only truth or something like that, and I remember the change card is Death. But there's twenty-some cards there. I gotta figure out how to guess the right one." Dustin confessed.  


* * *

The woman shuffled the cards again. This time, he ran his fingers over the tops of the cards, but he didn't even look at them. Instead, he looked directly at the old woman, and watched her as he passed his fingers along the cards. Eventually, he stopped.

"This one." He flipped it over to reveal the Death card.

"Indeed. The card of change. Your path will change as you leave here. Head east towards the Bridge of Killian, and it lies just across there."

"Thank you." Dustin thanked the old woman and started to leave with Victoria.

"How did you get that?" She asked.

"Her mouth twitched when I ran my hand over that card." Dustin replied. "She only did that with that card, so I figured it was important. Heh, when I'm up to bat, I watch the pitcher until he throws the ball. The way his shoulder twists as he prepares to throw, the motions of his leg as he steps. You can tell what's going to come your way. And that kind of talent has uses off the field as well."  


* * *

Back outside, the rest of the Swing Gang found that the noises had not stopped. Rather then split up the group again, Parker opted to let the noise come to her. Eventually, the noise revealed itself to be a man. A tall man dressed in a long black trench coat, with scruffy five-o-clock shadow, a lit cigarette in his mouth, and carrying a large hunting bow.

"That...can't be good." Casey frowned.

"You. You kids, trying to get to the Citadel? Not on my watch." The man took a drag on his cigarette.

"Like we're going to take orders from a Helsing reject." Stephen remarked. "Go find something better to do with your time. Like a can of shaving cream." The man silently raised his weapon and pointed it towards Stephen.

"Lay off." Parker tried to distract the man. It was clear that this was a part of the challenge, but she had no idea whether or not that weapon was real or not. But she wouldn't take the chance.

"You can deal with me if you want." Parker replied. The man didn't take his aim from Stephen, but his eyes flashed towards Parker. That was all Mark needed. Immediately he dashed forward towards the man and grabbed him by the wrist, twisting his arm roughly and causing the arrow to fall out of the bow. Mark kicked it away from the man, causing it to land by Ellie's feet. She picked it up, not sure what to do with it, so she started to run away from them. Before she got far, however, she tripped and fell on her stomach. The man and Mark scuffled for a few minutes before the man ran away.

"That was reckless." Parker frowned. "Are you alright, Ellie. Did that arrow..." Ellie stood up and shook her head.

"No, I'm not hurt."

"It was good that she tripped. If he'd wanted the arrow, he would have had to pick her up." Mark noted. "That might have been what sent him away." Ellie shyly smiled as she dusted herself off.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I don't know why Parker acts so weird around Mark. He's kinda nice." Ellie confessed.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"It wasn't reckless to go after that guy. We gotta do these types of things to win, and I'm good at this sort of stuff." Mark confessed. "Besides, these are acting challenges. The key word is acting. Gotta be dangerous."  


* * *

As Ellie dusted herself off, Dustin and Victoria emerged from the building.

"I know where to go." Dustin had a wide brimmed smile on his face. "Follow me."  


* * *

When the Boomers reached the front of the studio, it was a simple enough matter to use the security cameras. Madison wondered if Chris knew about the attempt last time to use them, or wondered if he even cared.

"We're not far." She said. "It's in the southwest corner."

"Let's go then." Kristen started to mobilize her team. They started to head south, only stopping when they reached one of the studios.

"It'll be faster if we cut through here." Sheldon replied. The studio itself seemed empty, so the Boomers started to quickly move in and try to find the exit.

"Pass here you shall not!" A voice sounded.

"Who was that?" Ben wondered.

"Move." Doug responded, trying to make his way towards the door on the other side. Before he could reach it, however, it opened, and from it stepped a large man dressed in a hood. He quickly stood in front of the door and closed it.

"Tch." Christian kicked the ground.

"No need to fret, sugar. We'll just go..." Sophie turned around, but noticed that, while the group was distracted with this new man, another man had entered through the entrance, and now blocked the way back.

"Get out of our way." Kristen replied.

"Should someone wish to pass, a riddle here is our duty to ask." The man in front of the door rhymed.

"We don't have time for games." Sheldon scowled. "Doug, can you take care of them."

"No." Doug replied. "That's wrong to hurt him."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I just had to get the one with the conscience. I'd do it myself if I could, but that guy guarding the door is twice as big as me." Sheldon confessed. "I might as well go for broke."  


* * *

"A riddle, is that all?" Sheldon replied. "Tell me." Madison too, seemed eager at the prospect of such a challenge.

"Leave me as I am, and I shall house your best friends. But cut my head off, and I shall not die, but become a resting place for some other friends. Who am I?" The large man intoned his riddle, and gave no other words.

"That's a weird one." Kristen thought aloud. "I'm usually pretty good at riddles, but I can't get my head around this one."

"I'm not good with word games." Doug stated. "Sheldon, what about you."

"I'm thinking." Sheldon puzzled.

"It's probably a word puzzle. Cut the head off usually means take off the first letter." Madison chimed up, eager to contribute in something she knew. Sheldon puzzled for a second longer.

"No, that's not it." He started talking to himself.

"Oh, come on!" Alice screamed. "We're going to lose because of this!" Sheldon ignored her and continued to think.

"Stable." Sheldon replied. "It can house a horse, a cow, or man's best friend, a dog. But if I claim his head, then he's a table, and he'll house my keys, wallet, and coffee. That's the answer, let's go." The man stood away from the door, and Sheldon quickly went through it.

When the team exited, they were very close to the southwest corner. However, when they reached it, they realized with a heavy heart that they had not arrived. Indeed, Casey's wild hair could be seen as soon as they exited the studio.

"This is all your fault, Madison!" Alice shouted. "You took too long with the cameras and the riddle."

"Hey, hey, stop fighting, ya'll." Christian tried to mediate, but it was of little use.  


* * *

"Alright, so it's clear that the Swing Gang have won the challenge today." Chris announced. Ellie let out a soft cheer, while Casey chuckled at her attempt and let out an even louder one.

"Which means I'll be seeing the Boomers tonight for the elimination ceremony. But, even though the Boomers lost, one teammate actually got into the game and delivered the best performance. And that was you, Sheldon." Chris reported.

"None other." Sheldon snapped his fingers.

"No one else really got into the challenge today. I wonder if you all forgot that this was supposed to be an acting challenge. For that, I'm going to give a little bonus. Sheldon, since you were practically the only one who actually treated this like a show, you'll be immune tonight as well as receiving the Silver Screen award.

"That's unusually generous of you." Sheldon replied. "But I'll take it."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I guess there really were advantages to playing these games like a game. But now everyone else is going to do it. I'm the best though, so I think I'm set."  


* * *

At the stage, Chris was bedecked in his formal tuxedo. The rest of the contestants, though ,seemed a little sour.

"Welcome, to the first elimination ceremony for the Boomers. At your feet, you'll see nifty voting devices. Other then Sheldon, all of you will be on it. So pick it up, and vote off your favorite loser." The contestants followed suit, and it didn't take long for all of the votes to be calculated.

"Alright, so if I call your name, I'll be throwing you a Gilded Chris. If you don't get one, you'll be walking the Red Carpet of Shame to board the Lame-o-sine and get the heck out of my studio. Alright, Sheldon, you're safe tonight, so I'll give you yours first." He tossed the award to Sheldon.

"Christian, you're safe as well." The man nodded and gracefully caught his trophy.

"Kristen." Kristen chuckled a little as she grabbed the trophy.

"Doug." Doug thanked Chris as he called out his name. He smiled at Sheldon, who only nodded at him in return.

"Sophie." Chris gave the next award out. Sophie eagerly grabbed the award and smiled at Kristen and Christian, who all engaged in a small hug.

"Ben." Ben had been aiming a shot at Kristen and Sophie with their awards, so he didn't hear Chris call his name until the thrown award collided with his head, but he gave Chris a thumbs-up afterwards.

"And this, is the final award. Madison or Alice, one of you will be leaving here tonight." Chris dangled the award tantalizingly towards the two. Alice looked with wide eyes at the award, while Madison seemed scared.

"Alice." Chris delivered the final award. Alice seemed almost relieved to hear it, and thanked both Chris and the other Boomers with a polite bow and a smile.

"Madison, that's it for you." Chris reported. "Time to go." Madison grabbed her books and started to make her way down the walk. The other Boomers seemed sorrowful and waved to her as she left.  


* * *

Inside the limo, Madison couldn't help but feel a little sad. She stifled a few tears looked at her books for a moment, then heard the window separating the driver's side go down.

"Too bad, little lady." She heard the voice, and recognized it as Chef. She didn't answer him.

"It's sad what happened to you. You didn't deserve it." He continued to speak.

"It happens. I deal." Madison replied. "Why the interest?"

"Because I have a proposal for you..."


	8. Stuntman Showdown

The next morning felt great for Parker. Her team had already negated the Boomer's number advantage in just one round, and the morale of her team was high.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"It's the way the game needs to be kept." Parker confessed. "We just need to keep winning the challenges and getting the other team voted out. It's just that simple."  


* * *

Over in the Boomers cabin, Ben was already awake, adjusting his camera while Sophie was finishing with her eyelashes. Ben took the opportunity to snap a quick shot of her.

"It's a nice look." He smiled. "We get to see you in the mirror as well." Sophie wasn't upset that he simply snapped the shot, she just moved on to her lipstick without incident._  


* * *

(Confession Cam)_  
"It's actually rather enjoyable to be here. These challenges are always surprising and there are plenty of opportunities for shots. I'm even concerned now about how much film I have, and it's only been two challenges yet." Ben confessed.  


* * *

Breakfast was served just outside the cabin. Chef appeared to be working over a grill, which made quite a few campers smile. But their smiles quickly dissolved when Chef placed the rancid excuse for a meal in front of them. The meat appeared to be shaped like T-bone steaks, but the meat was so well-done that it almost appeared to be charcoal. A few of the campers tasted the food.

"How is it?" Dustin asked Doug.

"Not good. But I'll still eat it." He replied.

"Good morning everyone." Chris seemed especially cheerful this morning. "Trust you're all ready for the next challenge."

"Oh yeah." Christian cheered. "Lay it on us."

"I'm calling this next challenge the Stuntman Showdown." Chris announced.

"Nice!" Dustin seemed excited by this. Kristen too, chuckled heartily.

"Like the challenge implies, we'll be performing quite a few action movie stunts. Here's how it'll work. I'll announce what you'll be doing, and, as a team, you'll be choosing one member of your team to attempt it. If the stunt is completed, we're hunky-dory. But if you fail the stunt, that's a problem. The first team to fail three stunts will be voting someone out tonight. Once someone attempts a stunt, they cannot attempt another one until all campers have had a shot. You'll be alternating by team on who goes first or second, and the Swing Gang are going to take the first stunt. Right after brekky is when we'll begin."  


* * *

As soon as Chris left, the Boomers huddled around their table.

"Anyone have any ideas on what types of stunts we're accomplishing?" Alice asked. The other campers almost seemed surprised by her softness considering how quickly she had flipped out before.

"Well, he said action movies." Kristen replied. "So probably just the basics. Jumping out of exploding buildings, disarming bombs, flying helicopters. You know, action movies."

"We might have an advantage." Sheldon pointed out. "They've only got Baseball and that Parker girl on their team. The others don't seem like this is their thing."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Sheldon's right. That Ellie girl is pretty, but she's definitely not Xena." Ben confessed. "We may have a good advantage here."  


* * *

Over at the Swing Gang table, the talk was not of strategy. Ellie and Victoria were both usually silent, but this time, Mark too, was quite, silently milling over something in his head.

"This is going to be wild." Casey thought.

"Isn't that how you like it, Stripes?" Stephen asked. Casey didn't respond, but he seemed to be enjoying his imagination of what he thought the challenges to be.

As soon as the contestants managed to stomach Chef's food, they assembled in front of Studio B. Inside, Chris was waiting with a large smile on his face.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"It's been my experience here that if Chris is smiling it's usually not good news." Ellie confessed.  


* * *

"Welcome." Chris greeted. "Our first test is going to be a simple classic, practically a staple of any action movie. I'm talking about the time honored tradition of jumping through a plate-glass window out of an exploding building." After Chris delivered the challenge, there was a brief period of silence.

"Oh, is that all?" Kristen commented sarcastically.

"I'd make it harder, but then I wouldn't have as many challenges to do." Chris replied. "But don't worry, once you guys start failing, I'll make them harder. Nothing boosts our ratings like pain."

"Oh, now that's just..." Kristen started, but Chris soon shouted loudly to drown her out.

"Whose going to do the stunt, Swing Gang?" He asked. The group huddled together, but quickly decided to have Parker attempt the stunt. Parker seemed excited, and stretched her calves a little before going over to Chris. He lead her into a large room shaped like a wind tunnel.

"Here's how it works. The window is about a hundred feet in front of you. Right above it is a light. Right now, it's red. When it turns green, you can start running towards the window. But be quick, because an explosion will be occurring behind you. The rest is simple. If you leap through the window and break it, you pass. If you don't, well, you signed release forms." Chris left the tunnel.

"Good luck, dude!" He shouted at her from behind the window. Parker stretched her legs again. As soon as the light turned green, Parker started to sprint. Focusing her gaze solely on the window in front of her, she practically flung her body forward, every inch bringing her closer to the door. She could feel the heat behind her, smelled the incendiary. She tried to ignore it as she continued to look for the window. When she felt as though she was close enough, she leapt through the window. It shattered around her as she leapt through, falling into a crouch on the ground.

"Not the most graceful landing, but a win is a win." Chris acknowledged.

"That's a lot of broken glass." Ellie looked over with a frown. "Are you alright."

"Fine." Parker replied. "I'm not hurt at all."

"Boomers, time for you guys to get started." Chris turned his attention. "Who is it going to be?"

"I'll do it. Nothin' to it" Christian offered.

"Fine with me." Kristen returned. "Go ahead." Christian went into the back of the tunnel as a new window was set up. On Chris's command, he tried to mimic exactly the same way Parker attempted the stunt. However, he didn't move as fast as she did, and the shockwave from the explosion propelled him towards the mirror. His landing was even less gracious then Parker's. Although the window shattered, he fell in a heap and rolled on the ground. Sophie and Doug immediately moved to assist him.

"Ouch. Gotta stick your dismount, dude." Chris seemed nonchalant, causing Kristen to get even angrier at the host. Christian appeared to be in some pain, but he was conscious and didn't appear severely injured. He'd probably be recovered by the end of the day.

"I'll get him to the infirmary." Doug offered Christian his shoulder. "You all just finish the challenge." He spoke in his normal slow monotone, but the rest of the Boomers could feel the concern he had as he carted Christian away.  


* * *

"For your next stunt, you'll be doing another classic scene of any action movie, and that is the chase scene. I'd like to introduce you to one of our animatronic action stars." Chris had escorted the contestants out of the studio and into the parking lot. Outside, there was a strange looking creature. It definitely was another of Chris's robots, but this one of an exceedingly poor quality. It made a yipping sound like a dog, but the design of the creature appeared to be something of a cross between dog, pig, and bear.

"Chris, what was the budget on that thing?" Sheldon asked.

"It came with the studio." Chris replied. "But it's easy to repair and fix, any of our interns can do it and they usually don't end up electrocuted."

"Usually?" Victoria asked with trepidation.

"Moving on. This little guy is going to zip around the grounds, and you have to catch it within three minutes. Use any resource you have at your disposal. Boomers, you are up first. Who's going to go for it?" The Boomers started puzzling over the little creature, then eventually sided on letting Alice accomplish the challenge.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"This challenge isn't very extreme. There's no explosions, fire, or giant monsters or anything. We should probably save our other members and go with her for this one." Kristen confessed.  


* * *

Alice looked at the little robot creature. It was so shoddy-looking that it almost seemed cute. Once Chris shouted out for the challenge to begin, the little creature scooted away from her. She started to pursue it, but the creature had a surprising amount of speed, and it moved much faster then she did. She picked up a rock and threw it at the creature, but the creature moved out of the way of that as well.

"Oh, come on!" Alice shouted. Her three minutes were spent trying to accomplish various tasks at stopping the creature. She threw trash cans, tried to trap it in corners, and a myriad of other tasks, but none of them seemed to work. The creature would just zip straight away from her when she got within a few feet of it. Alice then thought to make it run straight into the corner and come at it head on. It seemed to work for a second; the creature ran straight into the wall. But it soon corrected it's trajectory and zipped away when Alice was mere inches away from it.

"Time!" Chris called. Alice huffed and shouted at the little dog creature, who seemed unresponsive to her.  


* * *

"Alright, Swing Gang, you're up. Whose going to try and catch that little mutt?" Chris asked. The Swing Gang, seeing how the creature reacted, drew themselves into a huddle.

"Who thinks they can tackle this thing?" Parker asked.

"I doubt any of us can outrun that little bastard." Mark added. "And it moves out of the way when something is thrown on it." The campers started to think again.

"Wasn't it weird when it ran straight into the wall?" Casey asked. "But then it ran away again." Once Casey mentioned that, Ellie started silently milling over something in her head.

"I would like to try." She finally stated. "I think I have an idea."

"Any objections?" Parker asked. No one answered.

"Knock yourself out."

When Chris started the challenge, Ellie ignored the robot and instead went over to the studio. There she grabbed a trash can, and tipped it onto it's side. Once that was finished, she ran towards the dog and watched it run away. Instead of chasing it, Ellie went further away, and the dog soon ceased running and moved closer to her. Ellie then adjusted her position until the dog was between her and the tipped-over trash can. That's when she struck. She immediately chased after it, and watched it move head-long straight towards the trash can. As if completely oblivious to the can, it dashed in and collided with the back of the can. It tried to adjust it's trajectory, but it ran into one of the corners of the can. By then, Ellie had reached the can and tipped it back upright, trapping the robot inside.

Casey started laughing hysterically at Ellie's plan. Victoria silently nodded. Chris accepted the trash can without a word.

"That's one way to do it. The Swing Gang takes the lead." Chris informed.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"That's not bad at all." Mark confessed. "I had thought of something like that, although my idea was to trap it in the back of the studio van. That works, though. Maybe I can put a little of the Maverick Mark charm on her, maybe that'll make Parker a little...well, you know how chicks get when the man they like goes after another."  


* * *

"Not bad, Ellie." Mark flirted. "That was a good tactic." He moved in close to her. Parker found herself staring at him a little more then she would usually.

"Come on." Parker tried to break things up. "We need to get to the next challenge." Parker spoke a degree louder then she usually would, and started to move the campers towards Chris.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Mark and his antics are so...ugh! He's just trying to make a quick alliance. Yep, just trying to get Ellie to work with him. And I can't let that happen, because it'll be after me. Yep, that's all it is. No other ulterior motives." Parker confessed.  


* * *

Chris had let the campers to Studio D, which looked more like a storage warehouse.

"We keep many of our props and other crap here. And no action movie is complete without a fight sequence. You'll be fighting against the second-best looking person here behind me, Chef." Standing next to Chris, Chef waved to the contestants with a sinister smile on his face.

"You'll be using any weapons you can find. Pipes, chains, this is going to be a good old-fashioned street brawl. Fall down and it's over. Now, I doubt any of you can beat Chef, so we're just going to time this one, and the camper that lasts the longest will win. Swing Gang, you get to go first for this challenge. Who is it going to be? Free warning, Chef isn't going to pull punches no matter who you send out." The Swing Gang huddled again, but managed to settle on Dustin fairly quickly. He grabbed a length of iron pipe before Chris started the challenge.

"Begin." Chris instructed. Everyone else stepped far back as Dustin and Chef paced around each other.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I've been in my share of fights. People blow off steam in the most unusual ways. I figure the best thing to do is try to stall Chef, get as much time on our side as possible." Dustin confessed.  


* * *

Dustin made no efforts to attack at first. Chef delivered a few thrusts with his own pipe, but they were easy to avoid. Eventually, Chef stepped forward and tried to deliver a decisive strike to the side of Dustin's skull. Dustin ducked low to avoid, and Chef followed with a quick step forward. But Dustin hopped backward to regain the distance and his footing.

"Come on, Slugger." Stephen shouted. Chef struck forward again, this time, catching Dustin with an attack to the side. Chef tried to take quick advantage of the attack by delivering a sweeping low blow to Dustin's knees, but Dustin blocked and delivered and overhanded strike, which Chef parried, locking the two men in a dead lock.

"Boy, you got guts coming in close to me." Chef shouted. His breath kicked like a mule.

"You seem excited." Dustin replied. "What do you want, a kiss?" His tease made Chris chuckle. Chef, however, seemed incensed, and thrust forward with his shoulder, knocking Dustin straight to the ground.

"That's two minutes. Not bad. The interns didn't last that long." Chris delivered a praise. "Boomers, now it's your turn."

"There's really only one person who can do this." Sheldon replied. "It should be Doug."

"I agree. Ready to do it, sugar?" Sophie asked Doug, who had joined the team after dropping Christian at the infirmary.

"I suppose. But I don't want to hurt him." Doug seemed apprehensive.

"You won't have to." Sheldon instructed. "Just block his attacks for two minutes. Circle around so you don't get stuck in the corner. That's it, now go."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"At least Doug is tough and good at following orders." Sheldon confessed. "But seriously, it's like squeezing water from a rock."  


* * *

Doug started the fight like Dustin did. However, Doug did not opt to take a weapon. Chef's expression was blank as he delivered a few thrusts, thrusts Doug easily avoided. Eventually, Chef delivered a sideways slash towards Doug's stomach. Rather then avoid it, Doug merely grabbed the end of the pipe. Once it was in his hands, he grabbed the other side of the pipe and spread his legs so his stance was wider. It seemed odd to the people watching, but Sheldon soon saw that it had it's own sort of brilliance.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"With his legs spread and his knees bent, Chef won't be able to trip him very well. And since his hands are further outside of the pipe then Chef's, he'll have more leverage if Chef tries to swing. It's actually a brilliant move, but the fact that Doug thought of that so quickly bothers me. I'll have to be much more careful around him." Sheldon confessed.  


* * *

The deadlock lasted longer then the required two minutes until Doug willingly broke it. With the score tied up, the morale among the Boomers was higher.

"What's the next stunt, Chris?" Kristen asked.

"Another extreme one." Chris informed. "There's a lake right outside the studio, and that's where it's going to be held. Meet me there in ten minutes.

Once at the lake, Chris was sitting in the driver's seat of a motorboat.

"We're going to pair you guys up for this one, one of you at the same time. You'll both be waterskiing behind this boat, driven by Yours Truly. The first person to fall loses, and they'll be various hazards around the course. Nothing major, sandbars, wildlife, live mines, you know, the usual. And don't forget, you can try to knock each other off as well. Anything goes."

"What about mines makes them normal?" Victoria asked.

"It's this show, sis." Stephen corrected. "We could be shoved in a small cramped box with bees and scorpions and that would be common."

"Hey, cool idea, dude. I'll run that by the producers." Chris laughed

"Don't encourage him!" Victoria scolded. "Now, who is going to go."

"I'm the only real athlete left." Mark replied. "So I guess it'll be me." He started to change into his bathing suit.

"Who's going to do it for us Boomers?" Sophie asked. "I don't mind doing it."

"I'll do it." Kristen offered. The other Boomers seemed to agree, and Kristen got herself situated.

"If you want to kiss me for luck, you can use your tongue." Mark teased Parker, who huffed at him. He laughed at her reluctance, and got into the water.  


* * *

The challenge soon started. Both Mark and Kristen had excellent form and were riding along without difficulty. A flock of ducks was their first obstacle, and nearly caused Mark to fall off when a duck smacked into his face, but he still managed to hang on. After that, the mines started to explode. Although none of them were in a direct line of fire, they exploded awfully close to the contestants. This served only to drive the two racers closer together. As soon as they were close, Kristen tried to elbow Mark, but he remained upright on the skis.

"No good, cutie." Kristen seemed annoyed by his pick-up line, and tried to elbow him again.

"Why don't you try jamming your skis into mine. Is your grip good enough, skater, because I don't think so."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I did consider that, but decided against it. He wouldn't volunteer the path to victory for me." Kristen confessed.  


* * *

They raced closely for a time, Mark trying to swerve out of the way of Kristen's attacks. He wasn't delivering any of his own, however, which was concerning Kristen a little bit.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"The last thing I want to have happen is to blow this challenge because I got distracted. That's the easiest way to lose something like this." Mark confessed. "And when that ran through my head, it hit me on how to win this game."  


* * *

All of a sudden, Mark started laughing hysterically. Kristen found it very strange.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Well, heh heh, it's you, sweetheart." Mark replied, continuing to laugh.

"What about me?" She asked, not amused by his antics.

"Well, I can see your nipples through your top." Mark continued to laugh. Kristen screamed at that, and brought her arms in closer to cover herself. But her grip weakened with her mind elsewhere, and soon, she fell off the skis.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Come on, you wouldn't be able to see her nipples through that." Mark confessed. "But people are such prudes that even the thought of nudity distracts them. Ahh, another win for me. Damn, I'm good."  


* * *

"Okay, so the Boomers are down, and one more failed challenge means that this is the end. For your next challenge, we're going to create a scene for you. Meet me by your trailers in thirty minutes." Chris informed.

Back outside the trailers, Chris had lived up to his promise of a scene. Another trailer was set up near the contestant's trailers. Surrounded by a fenced in flower garden, it certainly look idyllic.

"One of the things that makes action movies so great are the nail-biting sequences. When you've only got ten seconds to save the world, the girl, and yourself." Chris explained. "And that's going to be your challenge here. I'm hidden a bomb in this trailer, that will explode in one minute as soon as the challenge starts. Your challenge is to find it before it goes off and cut the red wire. If it explodes, you both lose, and that would mean the Boomers go to elimination again. So, choose wisely."

The Boomers quickly chose Ben to accomplish the task.

"You'd be perfect, you're always looking for things out of the ordinary." Sophie informed. Alice agreed with her, citing that this was to be about observation more then anything else, since all they had to do was cut a red wire.

The Swing Gang took a lot longer to decide on their camper, but settled on Victoria, figuring that her personality quirks and straight lines made her the best person to spot something out of the ordinary. Once the two were ready, Chris started on the challenge, and they both entered the trailer. When they got in, however, they both silently cursed Chris. The trailer was setup much like an office, with a desk, bookshelf covering the whole west wall, and a couch. However, there were tons of clocks everywhere. Clocks on the floor, desk, thrown in the trash, one couldn't look anywhere without seeing at least three clocks. But the worst part was the ticking sound that all of the clocks were making. Not all of them ticked in concert, so finding an oddity would be extremely difficult here.

Not one to be daunted, Ben immediately set at the task, taking clocks and throwing them out the door, hoping to find one attached to dynamite. Not a one of them seemed odd to him. Victoria accomplished things more slowly. She started with the desk, checking all of the clocks, but soon she found her compulsions taking over, and the extremely unkempt office was a blight to her senses. She straightened the papers on the desk, and the chair. Ben continued to check even the most hidden areas for the explosive, but wasn't finding anything. The seconds slowly ticked away. Soon, the time ended, and Chris came into the trailer.

"That's it, dudes." He replied. As if on cue, a muffled popping sound from the desk drew both of the contestants' attention.

"Was that...the automatic sharpener?" Ben picked it up. From the outside, it was a solid chrome, unassuming piece, but when he removed the cover where the shavings were deposited, he saw strange mechanical parts that definitely did not belong.

"We thought the clocks would be too obvious, but enough clocks would make you think we hid it amongst the clocks." Chris went outside to deliver the news. The Boomers seemed distraught by this.

"Congratulations, Swing Gang. You guys win again. And Dustin, for your killer taunting of Chef during the fight scene, you'll be awarded the Silver Screen award. Hang onto it, dude, because you'll definitely need it later.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I'm definitely liking that our team is 2 and 0 now. It's no fun to vote people off." Casey confessed.  


* * *

At the elimination ceremony, the contestants had locked in their votes. Chris started handing off awards, and, to no one's surprise, the final three came down to Kristen, Alice, and Ben.

"All three of you did not complete your tasks today." Chris scolded the three of them. "And one of you will be leaving here tonight. But it's not you, Alice, so here is your trophy." Alice stood up gracefully and took her trophy without a word.

"Ben and Kristen, it will be one of you two who boards the Lame-o-sine tonight. You've spent your final night here. The final Gilded Chris goes to..." He dangled the award before the two of them. Both Ben and Kristen focused on the award without looking at anything else.

"Kristen." Chris threw the award to her. Sophie cheered for her friend as Ben kicked the ground. He stood up and started to walk down the carpet. The other campers were surprised at his walking, but he quickly turned around, just as he reached the car, and snapped his final shot of his teammates.


	9. Criminal Intent

The next day felt good for Dustin. With two team victories under his belt, the Swing Gang was establishing a clear dominance over the Boomers.

"And we can keep it going." Dustin noted silently so as not to wake up his teammates. "We just use our talents and let them run as they will, how can we lose?"

Over in the Boomer's cabin, Kristen was a lot gloomier. Losing a challenge always put a damper on the mood, but to lose two in a row was something depressing.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I sure hope we get things in gear." Kristen confessed. "I mean, Ben got the axe because he just ran headlong into things and didn't have a plan of attack."  


* * *

Christian was sitting at the mirror, administering the wounds he had picked up while jumping through the wall. The pain was gone, but he found the ones on his chest would ache if he exerted himself too much.

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I do love a physical challenge, but I hope today is something not. It wouldn't be a good thing to get these reopened. I'm just glad that Sophie knew a thing or two about this." Christian confided.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Help out Christian with his injuries? Of course I would do it. He's a valued member of our team, such a nice guy, and I get to rub all over him. What's not to like?" Sophie confessed.  


* * *

Outside of the trailers, neither Chris nor Chef were anywhere to be found. However, they appear to have left something for the campers, for a large hanging rack was placed in front of the doorways, with plastic bundles hanging from hangers occupying it. When Kristen went outside to investigate them, she saw that on the rack were some clothes. She removed one of them and removed the plastic. It appeared to be some sort of costume, but not one she was familiar with. A pair of men's slacks, a short-sleeved collared shirt, and a black vest with the word "Kelly" around it.

"That's Sheldon's last name, if I remember." Kristen returned the outfit to the rack, and noticed on the bottom were several black bags. She opened one of them to see various props. Badges, hats, and fake guns all occupied the bags. She gathered her teammates to look over the gear.

"Well, it's not a surprise what this is. This is all police gear." Sheldon informed. "And take a look here, our last names tell us which costume belongs to which person." He jabbed at Kristen, who huffed at him.

"A cop drama?" Alice asked. "I don't really like those."

"Me neither." Victoria added. "There's lots of death and blood in them." Victoria's face paled.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"This challenge does worry me a little bit for my little sis. She's pretty squeamish." Stephen confessed. "But there's more to this stuff then just blood. We just need to pick the right things."  


* * *

After the campers had changed into their new costumes, they sat down at the picnic tables for breakfast. Chris joined them later.

"Good morning, officers." He changed his greeting. "Liking the new threads?"

"Not bad." Doug answered Chris's rhetorical question.

"Anyway, as you've probably guessed, this week's challenge is the cop drama. In many ways, this is the drama that innovates and pushes the boundaries for other different types of shows.

"We didn't ask for a history lesson." Sheldon commented, causing the host to scowl.

"Each of you teams will be taking part in trying to solve the same case." Chris explained. "There's a crime scene to investigate, witnesses to question, evidence to process, and a killer to catch. The thing is, there will only be one accusation made. You may tell me at any time who you, as a team, think is the criminal. If you are right, your team wins, and the other team votes someone out tonight. If you are wrong, then your team is the losers, and everyone will know who it was that cost the team the challenge. Heh, doesn't that suck!" Chris seemed unusually cheerful when he delivered the final line.

"Figures." Parker returned. "When do we start the challenge."

"One hour." Chris replied. "Meet at Studio E. Everything you need will be there."  


* * *

The hour passed by quickly for the Boomers. Sheldon assigned himself the duty of interviewing the witnesses.

"More then one person will go, but make sure you get everything down and bring it to me." He expertly delineated tasks to his team. The rest of the Boomers didn't seem to question him at first.

"Whose going to take the body?" Doug asked.

"Not you." Sheldon replied. "Tomboy and Southern can take it."

"Hey." Kristen protested. "You think I want to see a dead body?"

"And who else could do it?" Sheldon questioned. Kristen started to think, but the other choices on the team were not going to work. Doug wasn't bright enough, Alice would probably freak out, and Sophie was too nice.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"These types of challenges are won when we have a real defined game plan." Sheldon replied. "Honestly, I don't think anyone here besides me is capable, but we're going to have a time crunch against the Swing Gang. Never underestimate stupid people in large numbers."  


* * *

The Swing Gang was just as serious as the Boomers when deciding on what to do.

"I'll...handle the people." Victoria was eager to avoid anything relating to the body.

"I'll work with you." Dustin replied. "People might have twitches and tells, and that would help out."

"I don't mind the blood." Stephen crossed his arms. "I don't mind looking at the body seeing what I can find. It's not going to be real anyway. I'll take Stripes with me." He gestured towards Casey, who didn't seem pleased with his nickname.  


* * *

When the campers arrived at Studio E, they were greeted by a disgusting sight. Chris was nowhere to be found, but lying smack dab in the middle of the lot was a clearly dead body. Propped up in the back of a flatbed truck with a large knife sticking out of his gut, there was no saving this poor soul.

"Is...is that real?" Kristen seemed reviled. Victoria turned away. Casey took a few steps towards it.

"I...I don't know. I don't think so. I mean, there's no way, right? Chris may be a sadistic bastard, but he's not a murderer." Casey reported. No one else seemed to agree with him, but the contestants who agreed to stick with the body huddled around it while the rest moved quickly into the studio.  


* * *

Inside the studio building, several offices were situated off to the side. When Sophie took a closer look at them, she saw that each office had a name written on the door on a piece of tape.

"That's weird." Sophie thought. She thought to enter, but stopped when she heard Doug calling over to her. He was assembled with the other campers at a table, where several clipboards and folders were lying.

"This is the case information, folders for each of us. I'll take this and this case of equipment out to our teammates." Sheldon informed. "Make sure you read." He darted towards the door.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." Sophie thought inwardly, before she sat in a chair to read the file.

According to the file, the victim was named Eugene Crane, and that was his truck the body was found in. He was apparently a maintenance man for the studio. The time of death was between 10 and 11 AM, and there were three suspects, all of whom were located in the offices. Mark seemed completely lost in thought as he read over the details.

"Did you see something important?" Parker asked. Mark put down the report.

"Trying to come up with the appropriate questions." Mark replied. "How about Victoria goes in and asks questions now, and I'll go in later when the evidence comes back." Victoria agreed, and went into the first room.  


* * *

The door read "Celeste Blackburn." Inside of the room, a very elegant woman sat, smoking a cigarette and occasionally fluffing her feather boa.

"Is this the detective?" Celeste seemed to regard Victoria with disdain.

"I'm Victoria." Victoria introduced herself.

"Celeste Blackburn, actress." The woman huffed again. "I suppose you're wanting to ask me about the maintenance servant. What of the little man."

"You seem to have a great deal of disdain for him." Victoria noted.

"For that insect? Me? Please. I glorified his day by letting him bask in my presence as he toiled around."

"If that's so, why even bother with acknowledging him. Why recognize him?" Victoria posed.

"He dared, that's why. He deigned speak to me without my permission. And what's worse is that he ordered me. Me, Celeste Blackburn. The only person an actress listens to is the producer and the muses. Never to the lowly masses."

"And so he slighted you. Made you mad?"

"I see what you are doing, peon. But let me tell you that I would never do something so bourgeois. I took my constitutional this morning, then was in make-up from 10:30 until now. So I couldn't have done it. Now will you please let me leave. I have a performance to give and the lives of the filth to enlighten."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Chris certainly can get the characters. Mark will have a field day with that one." Victoria confessed.  


* * *

After Sheldon had given the reports to Kristen and Christian, it wasn't long before Casey and Stephen were given their own copies.

"See anything unusual?" Casey asked.

"I'm really not certain what I'm looking for." Stephen replied. "This report tells us things we already know, and I don't see anything that contradicts it. The knife did the guy in.

"Did they do fingerprints on it?" Casey asked. "I know that much, at least."

"Said there weren't any. But there would have to be a lot of blood coming out from something like this. What do they call that stuff that they spray and check for blood with?"

"I don't remember, let's ask when we go in." Stephen bent in closer around the body to investigate the head. The victim was bald and wearing a baseball cap, and when Stephen removed it, he saw a clear bruise around the victim's head.

"That sure wasn't mentioned. I'll tell the others, you keep looking around." Stephen tried his best to not give any hints to the other team, who were looking around the bottom of the truck for more clues.  


* * *

While Victoria went in to speak with Celeste, Alice had gone into the office next door, where a suited middle-aged man with graying hair sat patiently. When he saw Alice, he stood up, shook her hand brusquely, and returned to his seat.

"Robert St. Claire. I'm the owner and director of this studio." He introduced himself. "Such a shame what happened to old Eugene."

"You knew him."

"He's been a friend of mine since my hair was all black. It may be gray, but at least I've got a full head of it." The man laughed at his own joke, while Alice groaned a little.

"So, tell me. What has your day been like?" Alice asked innocently, trying to avoid another lame joke.

"Well, it's all been awful since they found poor Gene. But before that I was in my office, trying to write up some new scripts. With that awful economy going around, I don't have as many writers as I would like, so I thought I'd try my old hand at it. Didn't do all that great, but I've made some progress."

"Were you alone?" Alice asked.

"Yes, I was." Robert replied. "I had a hard enough time doing my real job with other people around distracting me, asking me to fix their problems. Wasn't about to let someone else around when I barely knew what I was doing. Sorry that's not helpful."

"Did you notice anything weird happening?"

"No, not really. I heard Celeste moaning about something outside a little after 10, just after I got done with Mark. She had already finished her run and was supposed to be in makeup, but she ran off somewhere. What a surprise, she always had a problem with directions. I'd like to introduce my foot...but that's for another time. Was there anything else?"

"No, that'll do it for now. Thank you."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Wow, that was pretty easy." Alice confessed. "But I don't think we should say we're done just yet."  


* * *

In the third and final room, Sophie was meeting with Frank Masters, the cameraman. He seemed annoyed and brief with her, but he wasn't cruel or harsh with her.

"I was nowhere near the studio today." He replied. "I spent the morning with the director, we were arguing over money. That guy, he's nice as hell until the checkbook comes out, then he's a real cheapskate. He was like that with Gene too. Friends for years, and paid Gene dirt. Anyway, I left to clear my head, then I saw that old actress lady running towards the studio like she saw a ghoat or something."

"Was there anything unusual about her?" Sophie asked.

"Other then the fact that she didn't insult me as she walked by? No." Frank replied. "But she ran into the bathroom." Eager for that knowledge, she thanked Frank and returned to Sheldon.  


* * *

Sheldon listened to the stories given by his teammates. As he started to think, he looked over at Mark, who was being informed of something by Stephen. He heard him mention something about a bloodstain.

"Bloodstain?" Sheldon wondered. He was then joined by Christian. Rather then listen to what Christian had to say, Sheldon posed questions to him about the body.

"I see. So that's what he means. Christian, we're going to need a substance called luminol. Get it and meet me back here." Sheldon started to assemble his team.  


* * *

Meanwhile, Mark was trying to plan a strategy of his own. He had sent Dustin and Ellie to get testimonies to add to Victoria's, and now he was ready to make his move.

"Ever here of the saying 'Good Cop, Bad Cop'" He asked Parker.

"I think so." She replied.

"We're going to squeeze a confession out of these people and catch them in their lies. Let's start with the director." He and Parker moved towards St. Claire's room, to see Sheldon walking out with the man's blue blazer.

"That's weird." Mark thought, but it immediately went into the room.

"Oh, hello, Detectives." Robert greeted them kindly.

"Jig is up, old man." Mark was terse, and strode into the room. "You've been lying to the law."

"Mark." Parker started to protest, unsure of what exactly her partner was doing.

"I'm sorry?" Robert seemed confused.

"What's the deal, director man. We going to run around all day?" Mark asked. "I can book you and take you downtown. See if you'll be more cooperative there."

"I'm being."

"You weren't writing." Mark slammed his fist on the desk. "Otherwise you'd write up a better story. Here's one. Cameraman argues with director about money all day, goes off in a huff."

"Mark, don't you think you're taking this too far?" Parker asked.

"Detective Williams." Mark ignored her. "Where did the knife come from?"

"It belonged to the victim. Apparently he took it out to do some work on his car."

"So he's doing a little repair work and you come along. And, like always, your good old buddy asks to bum something off you. Maybe some quick change, maybe a smoke, who knows. But it pisses you off, cause he's been doing it for years. So you take that knife and you..."

"Stop! I didn't do it!" Robert seemed frantic. "It wasn't my fault."

"What wasn't your fault?" Parker posed. Mark smiled.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I wasn't sure whether or not he was the guilty one, but he was hiding something, and I was going to get him to spill his guts to me. Victory is mine!" Mark confessed.  


* * *

Parker and Mark exited the office with large smiles on their faces. They knew what had happened, they knew exactly what to tell Chris. They walked over to where he was sitting, calmly filing his nails as he had been doing since the game started. However, Sheldon was already there.

"Chris." He reported. "We're going to make an accusation."

"Crap." Mark kicked the ground. "He beat us."

"Are you sure?" Chris asked.

"Absolutely." Sheldon replied. "The killer is Celeste, but Robert helped her."

"What makes you say that?" Chris said.

"It's all a matter of testimony and evidence. Celeste went out for her daily run. She said she went to makeup afterward, but that wasn't true. She left and ran into Eugene by his truck. Eugene had been in a row with Robert about money earlier, and was in no mood for her and her attitude. While he was repairing his car, Celeste tripped over his toolbox. When she demanded he apologize for the insult, he refused. Angered, she grabbed the box and swung it at him, knocking him out. Realizing that he would report her when he came to, she grabbed a knife from the box and stabbed him in the gut. She then ran in to get Robert to help her adjust the crime scene, try to make it look like Robert wasn't repairing his car, seem more like a suicide. I found traces of blood on the inside cuffs of Robert's jacket, which meant he got blood on his shirt when he moved the body, but there was no blood on the outside, so he couldn't have done it. So it had to be Celeste. We discovered when we searched her, and found a pair of bloody thin gloves she always wore."

"Wow, impressive. And that's absolutely correct." Chris praised. "Well done, Boomers. You've scored your first victory. You guys could really use that, huh?"

"Bite me. Now give me the Silver Screen." Sheldon ordered.

"Not a chance. Mark's vigilante cop performance was much better then your delivery. It's all about the pacing, dude." Sheldon seemed angry that the award wasn't for him.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I do think Mark deserved the award today." Parker confessed. "But now I've got to think who should get voted off. It really came down to time, so I think it's going to have to be something that caused us to waste time."  


* * *

At the Elimination ceremony, the Swing Gang was tense. They picked up their voting machines, and seemed to deliberate a long time before making their choices.

"You've all cast your votes and made your decisions. One of you will be leaving Total Drama Action tonight. When I call your name, come up and get your Gilded Chris award. And the first one goes to Mark."

"None other." Mark grabbed his trophy.

"Elizabeth, you're safe too." Ellie seemed genuinely relieved as she received her trophy.

"Dustin." He let out a cheer and quickly grabbed his piece of safety.

"Parker." Mark chuckled as Parker claimed her trophy. Parker tried her best to ignore him.

"Stephen." Chris threw the trophy to Stephen, who caught it expertly.

"And this is the final trophy. Either Victoria or Casey will be leaving here tonight. Who is it going to be?" Chris dangled the trophy in front of them. Victoria was pensive, while Casey had a look of horror on his face.

"Casey." Casey slumped his shoulders in relief, as Victoria, sighed, and started to walk down the carpet.

"Good luck, bro." Were the only words she said as she waved goodbye to everyone, and the limo drove out of sight.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"It's a little sad, but Victoria was really worked up about dealing with the blood. That testimony she gave us wasn't as helpful, though it really wasn't her fault. Just bad luck I guess. Sorry, hon." Dustin confessed.


	10. Ski Bunny Blues

The next morning was a particularly sad one for Steven. He lay in bed silently, almost not even wanting to get out.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Weak. So weak. It absolutely sucks that they voted off Victoria." Stephen confessed. "And it's not just her brother speaking, she was more valuable then a few of the others on our team."  


* * *

Sophie shivered as she woke up the next morning. Sometimes there were those cool mornings in summer, but this was unlike anything she had felt in late June. Stretching and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she still found herself extremely cold.

"Did some freak storm hit or something?" Sophie peered out the window of the trailer door, and saw equipment waiting on the picnic tables. Quickly, she dressed and went outside to take a look.

_(Confession Cam)_  


* * *

"Poles, boots, parkas. All completely unseasonal. If I wanted a mountain getaway, I wouldn't go somewhere where a sadistic host would sic rabid bears on us just to get a single ratings point." Sophie confessed.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Clearly, she doesn't know what ratings mean." Chris confessed.  


* * *

"I wonder what all this is." Casey wondered as the contestants sorted through the gear.

"Chris must be planning a trip." Doug replied. "Somewhere cold."

"That's kinda sorta it." Chris came up to the contestants. "Our next genre is going to be the sports movie."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"This isn't bad." Kristen confessed. "Most of those types of movies end up being kiddie, but there's a few good ones out there."  


* * *

"Specifically." Chris continued on his introduction. "Our challenge is going to be ski-themed."

"I've never done that." Sophie replied. "Malibu's a beach town. What about you, Christian?" He shook his head.

"It snows once in a blue moon down where I'm from." He replied.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I'm looking around at some of the other competition, and I'm thinking we just might have scored this challenge." Dustin confessed. "Skiing isn't my sport of choice, but up where I'm from, there's some good powder."  


* * *

"We're going to be on location for this one, folks. In one hour, be ready to get going." Chris replied before departing. Once he left, the two teams immediately got together.

"Who here has skied before?" Sheldon asked his team. To his chagrin, none of his team answered affirmatively.

"I prefer a more urban setting for my ride." Kristen replied. "Though I am used to snow being on the ground while doing it."

"Not the same thing." Sheldon replied tersely. "I suppose we'll just have to make do with a few other tactics." He silenced himself and started to think.  


* * *

The Swing Gang seemed excited at the prospect of a ski trip.

"I'm not the best skier, but I do like it." Casey remarked.

"I've always wanted to go." Parker affirmed. "I guess this is a good excuse."

"Sounds well and good, but we need to win the challenge here as well." Mark replied. "I wonder how he's going to do the challenge. It's not going to be just a trip down the mountain, I can tell you that. What do these types of movies have?" No one could volunteer anything concrete.  


* * *

The camper's huddle didn't last for long, as Chris soon gathered them all and started a drive. The trip wasn't long and soon, the contestants found themselves at the base of a large mountain.

"Hey, Chris, this doesn't look like a ski lodge." Dustin said. "There's no chairlifts or anything."

"What is this, the Ritz?" Chris asked. "Do you know how expensive it would be to rent an actual ski resort for the day. All you need is a mountain with snow on it."

"And that's there ain't a trail for skiing..." Christian started, but saw that Chris was ignoring him.

"...Doesn't bother you." He finished glumly.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Typical." Alice replied. "I don't understand why I'm still surprised by his careless disregard for our safety."  


* * *

"Alright, here's how it works. There are two challenges to complete here, but it is the second one that determines whether or not who wins and which team will be voting someone out."

"So what's the point of the first challenge?" Sheldon asked.

"Well, the first challenge is going to be to get you acclimated to what we're doing. I understand some of you have never skied before. Also, the Silver Screen award is up for grabs, and the winner of this challenge will be snagging that."

"We can do that." Doug replied. "What is the first challenge?"

"Well, this touchy-feely movies were all the rage back in the 80's, and they all start the same way, with a nice but lovable loser who is just starting out. They end up being pretty good, which doesn't sit well for the hot-shot jerk, who challenges him to a race. He tries to sabotage, tortoise beats the hare, and everyone is force-fed a lesson about honesty or some such nonsense. Okay, so the first challenge today is not only to get your feet wet, but it's a homage to the stupidest, yet greatest plot device known to man. And that is ...the montage!"

"Totally called it." Kristen chuckled. "All sports movies have those things."

"You didn't say anything, hon." Sophie playfully reminded. "But I know what you're getting at. I think this sounds fun, let's get right to it!"

"Here's how it works." Chris explained. "You only have a short amount of time to get as good as you can for the big race. So, hit the slope, find out who's got the moves. At the end of two hours, you'll all take a practice run down the amateur bunny slope, and the first one down wins for their team."  


* * *

As soon as the Swing Gamg hit the slopes, it was clear who their best skier was. Although Parker and Mark both showed remarkable aptitude, it was Dustin who showed the most ability on the slopes.

"Not bad, boy." Parker smiled at him, causing Mark to scowl. "We should probably help out the others."

"I'm all right." Casey replied. "I can get down without falling and turn a little."

"But you go too slowly." Parker returned.

"Slow beats tree. This isn't a regulation course, if there was such a thing as a regulation course. There's trees everywhere. Help out Ellie, Dustin. She's the one who needs the help."  


* * *

The Boomers were having more trouble on the slopes. While Kristen did remarkably well, the rest of her team wasn't faring so well. Sheldon was clumsy on the skis, Doug had difficulty staying upright, and Alice had trouble turning, and was getting easily frustrated as a result. Although Sophie was able to stay upright, she moved extremely slowly, and wouldn't be of much help in a race. Although Kristen tried to help out her team, there simply wouldn't be enough time to get everyone in tip-top shape.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I really, really don't like this. The problem I'm seeing is, since I'm the best on our team, if our team loses, people might think I'm the one responsible for failure. How they put their hopes for success on me, you know." Kristen confessed.  


* * *

Chris had claimed that the final race for the montage challenge was going to be on a bunny slope. However, the actual course was anything but.

"Hills, jumps, trees, you must think we're some pros." Christian lamented.

"Hey, that's what a montage is supposed to do. Make an amateur into a pro in no time flat."

"I despise you." Sheldon said to the host.

"Alright, so like I said, the first one down wins for their team. There's no special advantage to it or anything. Now, just to warn you, we have a few hazards placed on the course in addition to the normal bric-a-brac. This is a movie, and these movies always have sabotage."  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I should have seen that coming." Mark confessed. "Then again, these types of movies aren't my thing. The sports scenes are too short, and they focus on the whole bad family situation or set it in a historical thing or some other such nonsense."  


* * *

The race soon started. Parker took a quick lead as she swished down the mountainside, but soon Kristen was overtaking her.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I admit it, I'm not the fastest skier. But what I do know from all that time skating is how to maintain speed. Parker's fast, but she loses a lot of speed when she turns. And with this twisty course, keeping speed is essential to win that race." Kristen confessed.  


* * *

Kristen maintained her lead for a while before she ran into the first hazard. There were some extremely curious bumps in the snow. At first, she thought they might be small jumps. But she veered too close to one and soon saw her error. As she came too close, the bump exploded, causing her to be blown off to the right and off balance.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Ah, explosives make anything better." Chris confessed. "Old proximity mines are enough to knock em off, but the range is pretty far, so they won't get too seriously maimed. At least I think they won't. Last thing I want to see are bloody smears when I go down that mountain."  


* * *

It took Kristen a little time to get untangled and back on her feet. By that time, she had dropped out of the lead. He wasn't moving as fast as Kristen was, but avoiding the suspicious bumps was a lot easier for him. The hazardous field soon gave way to simple trees.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Trees I can deal with." Mark confessed. "At least, moreso then those crap hazards Chris throws out as us."  


* * *

Mark's lead was short-lived, as Dustin quickly overtook him. Dustin handled the trees remarkably well. After a short trip, he soon found the land clearing up. Immediately, he wedged his skis to slow himself down.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Whenever things seem suspicious, it's because they are. I'm not going to let Chris trap me." Dustin confessed.  


* * *

The first leg of this clearer path went by without incident. However, Dustin started to notice a few more odd bumps in the snow. He continued along, trying his best to avoid them. Doing so soon required him to take a narrow passage between two trees, which he was able to do.

"Beat that, Chris." Dustin said silently. He didn't have too long to celebrate his victory, as he suddenly found himself flying into the sky.

"What the..." Dustin was surprised to see himself caught in a net.

"How did he set this thing up?" He wondered as he tried to free himself. But the thick ropes held. He watched the rest of the campers pass by him.

"This wasn't in any skiing movie."  


* * *

Although Mark tried to keep his lead, it was Kristen who made it down the mountain first. Once all the contestants had assembled, Chris started to deliver the next mission.

"You've all gotten your feet wet." He explained. "Now it's time for the real thing. The final run down the Double Black Diamond."

"That's bad, isn't it." Alice wondered.

"I've heard someone say that before, that's really steep." Sophie reflected. "That's not going to go well. I only did so good in practice."

"You might not be doing it." Chris replied. "The final big match is always one-on-one. Each time will nominate one representative. The rest of you won't be skiing. So, pick wisely."

"It's got to be Kristen." Sheldon replied. "She did the best here." No one else seemed to protest.  


* * *

Over on the Swing Gang, however, Mark refused the idea when it was proposed that he run the course.

"Dustin does better on the slopes then I do." He replied. "Besides, there's other things to be done."

"Like what?" Ellie replied. "Only one racer."

"There are other aspects to these types of races. Chris said only one racer, but that doesn't mean we just sit around."

"Now hold on a minute." Parker crossed her arms. "What does that entail? You saying we sabotage the race?"

Mark feigned a look of surprised indignation.

"Why, how could you suggest such a plan? That won't be necessary. I've seen Kristen on the slopes, and Dustin is better. But I'm suggesting a different sort of sabotage.

"You mean, you think the other team is going to try it?"

"Come on, hon, use that pretty head of yours. You know who is on that team. Shall we, gorgeous." Mark winked. Parker huffed, but nodded.  


* * *

While Dustin and Kristen were going up to the top of the mountain, Sheldon started to slink off.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Because I'm the only one who seems to piece together Chris's doublespeak, I know that we aren't limited to doing nothing. There's a few ways to slow down Dustin's descent, or even get him stuck on the mountain. I've noticed that Kristen is faster when the path is curvy, so I gotta make sure there are more obstacles to avoid."  


* * *

Before he left, Sheldon grabbed Doug to help him. At first, Doug had refused.

"We aren't supposed to be racing."

"We aren't racing." Sheldon explained. "That's why Chris said we won't be skiing. If he wanted us to sit around, he'd say so." Doug seemed torn a bit.

"Listen, these types of things happen in these movies all the time. Chris wants us to do stuff like this. It boosts ratings. Come on, we aren't breaking the rules." Doug seemed indecisive again, but followed Sheldon up the mountain.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"I was smarter then that dork when I was eight." Sheldon confessed. "But he's an extra pair of hands. Strong hands."  


* * *

About halfway up the mountain, Sheldon stopped.

"This is good. We'll set the first one here. Break off some of the larger tree branches and scatter them across the course. Don't completely block things off, just make it twisty, twisty like Lombard Street." Doug stared at his reference blankly. Sheldon sighed, and returned to work.

Starting down the mountain was a cinch for Dustin. The mountain was easily the steepest he had ever done, but he knew how to handle himself. Kristen, despite a rocky start, was also making excellent progress, and Dustin found himself going faster and faster just to maintain his lead. Despite the various hazards that plagued the last course, this one was surprisingly free of them. But the path was steep and twisty, and that was hazardous enough in itself. Kristen had to pull off some fancy maneuvers to avoid a path that simply dropped off the cliff side.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"This is not going to end well for me." Kristen confessed. "If I don't plummet off a cliff, I'll hit a tree. If I don't hit a tree, I'll hit some explosives or other traps. If I don't hit them, Dustin will not hit those non-existent hazards and beat me. But that doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and lose."  


* * *

Sheldon and Doug had finished laying their first hazard, and were going a little further down the mountain to lay another. By the time they got there, however, they ran into Mark.

"It seems hard to eke out a dishonest living, doesn't it." Mark chided. "I usually don't take such an interest in men, but I'm feeling generous today."

"We are following the rules." Doug stepped in closer. "There is nothing wrong with what we are doing."

"I'm not a rules lawyer." Mark replied. "But that doesn't mean I won't try and stop you." With his attention focused on Doug, Sheldon managed to sneak away. Mark moved to follow, but soon stopped. This too, was not unforseen. He continued to engage Doug in conversation, trying to stall him until the race was over.  


* * *

Sheldon tried to finish his task. He briefly considered going over to get another helper, but that would cost too much time. He decided to set the trap himself.

"Trying something?" A woman's voice called out. Sheldon turned to see Parker behind him.

"Oh great, Mark's little girlfriend. He's over with some guy, chatting him up."

"Don't be a pig." Parker returned. "I figured something like this would happen, so we split up. So what are you planning. No wait, it doesn't matter. This race is going to continue as it is. Don't you think Kristen wants to win on her own merits?"

'Without a doubt." Sheldon replied. "But will she? And don't give me a remark on rudeness, it's a simple question. Compare their skill levels, I'm just evening the playing field."

"Fair enough. But that doesn't mean I will not stop you." Parker protested.

"With fighting? How base." Sheldon insulted. Parker merely stared him down with fury in her eyes. Sheldon returned the stare, until he heard the sound of whizzing behind him. He turned to see Dustin, racing ahead of Kristen, as he rocketed down the path.

"Too late for you." Parker laughed. "And once they hear about this, I don't think you'll be long for this island."

"They won't believe you." Sheldon replied. "You are the captain on the opposing team, and would say anything to weaken our team. Besides, I never broke the rules. I'm heading back down."  


* * *

Back down the mountain, Alice was wasting no time admonishing Kristen for losing. Although she came close, it was no cigar. Christian was being very supportive of her, while the Swing Gang high-fived and celebrated yet another victory.

"I'll see you tonight, Boomers. Although you lost today, things aren't all bad for you Kristen. You did win the first race, and I did promise you a reward for that. You get the Silver Screen award tonight." Chris replied. The teams entered their vans and returned back to the studio. Although the teams drove in separate vans, Parker tried to speak to another of the teammates, when she realized she didn't really know them. She settled on Sophie, but by the time she tried to get her, it was time for the Gilded Chris ceremony.  


* * *

"You have all cast your votes and made your decisions. I'll be giving you a Gilded Chris if you're making it to the next round. The first person safe is Doug." Chris threw the award to Doug, who smiled and tucked it under his seat.

"Sophie." Sophie pleasantly thanked him as the award was given to her.

"Christian." Christian cheered as he retrieved his award.

"Sheldon.' Sheldon couldn't help but laugh at his own correctness when Chris called his name.

"And this, is the final award. Kristen, today you skied very well, but didn't win, and not winning is what gets you here. And Alice, for someone who didn't ski very well, you sure did chew out Kristen a lot." Alice scowled at him.

"It's the reason we're here, just like you said." She replied.

"Indeed." Chris acknowledged. "But it's not what saves you. Alice, you're done. Kristen, here is your Gilded Chris."

"No way!" Alice shouted. "You've got to be kidding me!" She ranted and raved as the other team ignored her and went back to their trailer. Eventually, she was lead off the set down the red carpet. The limousine drove away rather swiftly as it went out of sight.  


* * *

_(Confession Cam)_  
"Time for a little more sabotage, dear heart." Sheldon confessed. "Alice left for reasons I didn't have to devise, but I'm not about to let you stick around. We'll see how long you last when I set my guns on you, Parker."


End file.
